NCAA Tennis: Team Capsules

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State earns the No. 11 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament after a historic regular season. The Cyclones will host the first and second rounds of the tournament Friday and Saturday at Ames High School Tennis Courts (24th Street).

IOWA STATE CYCLONES
Ending the regular season with an overall record of 18-5 and 7-2 in Big 12 play, the Cyclones are headed into the opening rounds as the top seed at the site and No. 11 seed overall. This is the third time in school history Iowa State will compete in the NCAA Championships and third consecutive year head coach Boomer Saia will compete in the postseason. Iowa State earned the No. 11 seed in the tournament, its first-ever national seed.

It was a year of firsts this season for the Cyclones, both individually and as a team. Playing in both the ITA Kickoff and ITA Indoor National Championships, Saia and the team pulled off wins against No. 18 UCLA, No. 10 Miami, No. 9 Vanderbilt and No. 1 Texas. The team also showed they can win just about everywhere by securing a winning record at home, on the road, and at neutral sites in the same season for the first time since the 1984-85 and just the second time in school history.

The Cyclones have racked up 10 Top 50 wins, compared to just five losses to that group of teams.

In The Rankings
Team - #12
Singles - #60 Thasaporn Naklo; #66 Ange Oby Kajuru
Doubles - #54 Anna Supapitch Kuearum/Thasaporn Naklo; #65 Ange Oby Kajuru/Chie Kezuka; #77 Ange Oby Kajuru/Xinyi Nong

DRAKE BULLDOGS
Led by first-year head coach Breaunna Addison, a standout as a player at Texas and a two-time Big 12 Player of the Year, the Bulldogs enter the postseason coming off of a Missouri Valley Conference Championship title. In conference play, Drake finished second with a 7-1 record, going 16-7 overall throughout the season.

After a 9-7 start to their season, Addison and her team caught fire and closed out the year with eight straight wins on their way to the MVC Conference Title. This will be the fourth time in program history the Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Tournament and third time since the year 2000. In the MVC championship match, Drake avenged an earlier 5-2 loss to Illinois State by beating the top-seeded Redbirds, 4-3, on their home court.

The Bulldogs fell to Iowa State, 7-0, in the January 14 dual season opener for both schools.

Junior Ines Stephani was named MVC Player of the Year, while Oriana Parkins-Godwin was All-MVC at No. 5 singles.

WISCONSIN BADGERS
Finishing the year 19-6 and 8-3 in Big Ten play, Wisconsin is playing in its 10^th NCAA Tournament and third under seventh-year head coach Kelcy McKenna. The Badgers earned an at large big after falling in the semifinals of the Big Ten Championships to the eventual winner, Michigan.

McKenna and her team are having one of the best seasons in school history. Wisconsin has been represented in the ITA Rankings for 10 straight weeks, including reaching as high as No. 11. The Badgers finished the season strong, going 4-1 against ranked opponents in their final five matches.

The UW singles lineup boasts three nationally-ranked players, led by Ava Markham at No. 1 singles. In dual action, Markham is 16-6.

In The Rankings
Team - #22
Singles - #59 Ava Markham; #72 Maria Sholokhova; #120 Xinyu Cai

LSU TIGERS
After missing out on the NCAA Tournament a year ago, LSU earns an at large bid this season with first year head coach Taylor Fogleman, a former Texas assistant coach. This marks the 24^th-time in program history the LSU will play in the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers finished the season 13-10 overall and 5-8 against SEC opponents. In its conference tournament, LSU reached the quarterfinals before falling to Georgia, who went on to be crowned SEC Tournament Champions. The Tigers have two wins against an NCAA Tournament team this season, defeating Arkansas twice in the regular season and post season.

LSU is led by a pair of nationally ranked players. Redshirt freshman Anastasiya Komar enters the tournament ranked No. 10 nationally after going 33-7 during the season. Her season included 12 ranked wins. Former Texas Longhorn Kylie Collins enters postseason player ranked No. 39, going 13-13 this season.

In The Rankings
Team - #41
Singles - #9 Anastasiya Komar; #39 Kylie Collins
Doubles - #6 Kylie Collins/Anastasiya Komar; #53 Nikita Vishwase/Anastasiya Komar; #75 Sariya Carrington/Anastasiya Komar

Players Mentioned

Ange Oby Kajuru

Chie Kezuka

Anna Supapitch Kuearum

Thasaporn Naklo

Xinyi Nong

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics