Cyclones Lose Heartbreaker to No.40 Houston

Sunday, March 22

Ames, Iowa

Noon

Iowa State

Houston

Photo by: LUKE LU @KL6PHOTO

Cyclones Lose Heartbreaker to No.40 Houston

03.22.2026 | Tennis

Box Score

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (2-12, 0-9 Big 12) fell in a heartbreaker to No. 40 Houston (13-4, 4-4 Big 12) Sunday afternoon by a score of 4-3. The Cyclones fell just short of picking up their first ranked win of the season.

In doubles, ISU clinched its first doubles point since Feb. 13 against Illinois. With the Cougars taking Court 1, the Cyclones had to rally on Courts 2 and 3 to get on the board first. Julia Camblor and Stanislava Shulzhenko took the 6-4 win on Court 2 to earn their first win as a pair and create a winner-take-all match on Court 3, where the freshman duo of Alicia Dale and Gabriella Kellner came through, 6-4, to secure the opening point of the match.

In singles, Houston took the first two matches on Courts 5 and 6 to take the lead, but Ashlee Narker picked up her first singles victory of the season over Chems Doha Zeghlouli, 6-3, 6-4, to knot things up at 2-a-piece.

Shulzhenko would then give the Cyclones the lead back after losing the first set, downing Iva Sepa, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. Houston didn't back down though, tying the match back up at 3 after a comeback victory of their own on Court 4.

The match came down to Court 4, where Mari Paz Alberto Vilar and Elizaveta Morozova battled all the way to the end, with Morozova ultimately taking the final set, 6-3.

The Cyclones will be back in action next weekend, going on the road to Arizona Friday and Arizona State Sunday.

Results
Doubles
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
#1 – Sophie Schouten/Chems Doha Zeghlouli (UH) def. Mari Paz Alberto Vilar/Ashlee Narker (ISU), 6-3
#2 – Julia Camblor/Stanislava Shulzhenko (ISU) def. Iva Sepa/Valeriia Krokhotina (UH), 6-4
#3 – Alicia Dale/Gabriella Kellner (ISU) def. Petja Drame/Elizaveta Morozova (UH), 6-4

Singles
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 2, 3, 4, 1
#1 – Morozova (UH) def. No. 83 Alberto Vilar (ISU), 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-3
#2 – Narker (ISU) def. Zeghlouli (UH), 6-3, 6-4
#3 – Shulzhenko (ISU) def. Sepa (UH), 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
#4 – Krohkotina (UH) def. Camblor (ISU), 0-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2
#5 – Drame (UH) def. Dale (ISU), 6-4, 6-1
#6 – Schouten (UH) def. Gabriella Kellner (ISU), 6-2, 6-3

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