Cyclone Tennis NCAA Championships Primer

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State is set to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. LSU and Wisconsin will make the trip to Ames to face off and the Cyclones will go head-to-head with Drake in their opening draw.

Weekend Schedule
At Ames High School Tennis Complex (located on 24th Street)
Friday, May 5
Match 1: 11 a.m. – No. 21 Wisconsin (19-6, 8-3) vs. No. 43 LSU (13-10, 5-8)
Match 2: 2 p.m. – No. 12 Iowa State (18-5, 7-2) vs. Drake (16-7, 7-1)
Saturday, May 6
1 p.m. – Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2

At Life Time Fitness (in the event of inclement weather; located in Urbandale)
Friday, May 5
Match 1: 2 p.m. – No. 21 Wisconsin (19-6, 8-3) vs. No. 43 LSU (13-10, 5-8)
Match 2: 5 p.m. – No. 12 Iowa State (18-5, 7-2) vs. Drake (16-7, 7-1)
Saturday May 6
6 p.m. – Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2

Following the Matches
Live stats links for this weekend's matches are available at the top of the page.

The Series
After sweeping Drake earlier in the season, Iowa State is now even with the Bulldogs in the all time series, 30-30. The Cyclones have gone 1-7 against the Badgers all time, however head coach Boomer Saia and his team took down Wisconsin, 4-3, in March of 2022. The Cyclones and Tigers have not competed against each other.

Last Time Out
The Cyclones last competed in the Big 12 Championships, two weeks ago. In its opening matchup, Iowa State cruised past then No. 28 Kansas, 4-1, to reach the semifinals for just the second time in school history. In the semifinals, the Cyclones went toe-to-toe with then-No. 14 Oklahoma and lost in the final set of the last remaining match, 4-3. To read more about the Big 12 Championships, click here.

Iowa State NCAA Tournament History
In 2021, the Cyclones qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. The team is now going on three straight seasons of competing in the tournament, and is set to host Drake, LSU, and Wisconsin in the first and second rounds.

The previous two years, Saia and his team opened the tournament facing South Carolina. In 2021, the Cyclones shocked the country by defeating then No. 24 Gamecocks, 4-2, to advance to the round of 32 where they would eventually fall to NC State, 4-2. In 2022, South Carolina won the rematch in the opening round, 4-0.

Player to Watch
Ange Oby Kajuru has put together one of the best sophomore season campaigns in program history. The second year player is coming off of an All-Big 12 regular season for the second consecutive year. Playing at the No. 2 singles and doubles spot, Kajuru was awarded singles position champion, doubles position champion, All-Big 12 First Team Singles, All-Big 12 First Team Doubles and Big 12 All-Tournament Team.

Headed into her second NCAA Tournament, Kajuru finished conference play 6-2 in singles and 7-1 in doubles. Through two seasons, she already sits tied for sixth in school history for conference regular season career singles wins and tied for fourth for conference regular season career singes wins. The Tokyo, Japan native also leads her team with 12 wins against ranked opponents this season.

Cyclone Tennis Quick Hit
This season, Saia and his team have gone 11-5 against teams that are now competing in the NCAA Tournament. Even more impressive, nine of the 11 wins came away from home. In total, 14 out of 18 wins have be on the road. This is the most wins away from home since the 1986-87 season and three shy of the school record (17).

Follow the Cyclones
Keep up with Iowa State Tennis by following @CycloneTEN on Twitter, @iowastatetennis on Instagram, and Iowa State Tennis on Facebook

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Players Mentioned

Ange Oby Kajuru

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