Kenna Kilgo - Tennis Coach - Iowa State University Athletics

Kenna Kilgo

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
kkilgo@iastate.edu
Phone:
515-294-2053

Awards & Honors
ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year (2021, 2022, 2023)

Kenna Kilgo served five seasons (2018-23) as an assistant coach for the Iowa State tennis team and was instrumental in the most successful era in the history of the program. The three-time ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year was elevated to associate head coach in May of 2021 after serving as an assistant coach the previous three seasons.

Kilgo and Saia teamed up to not only bring respectability to the Cyclone tennis program, but make it a force to be reckoned with on the national stage.

In her final season with the Cyclones in 2022-23, ISU had its most impressive season. The Cyclones finished 21-6 overall and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships. ISU also advanced to the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championships. ISU's 7-2 finish in Big 12 action was the best in school history and put them in a tie for third in the final standings.

In postseason action, ISU defeated Drake and Wisconsin to reach the Super Regionals before disposing of No. 20 UCLA to reach the final site. The win over the Bruins was ISU's seventh Top-20 win of the season, which included the first-ever win against a No. 1 team in Texas and first win against Oklahoma State in 50 tries.

The Cyclones finished the season No. 8 in the nation and four different Cyclones earned All-Big 12 honors.

The Cyclones went 16-7 in 2021-22, posting the most wins by the school since 1986-87, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season. The Cyclones climbed to as high as No. 20 in the ITA polls and were ranked No. 35 in the final rankings.

ISU won a school-record three Big 12 road matches, including the first-ever wins at Kansas and TCU. The Cyclones have 11 top-50 wins the last two seasons, which represent the only top-50 victories in school history.

Individually, Thasaporn Naklo became the first Cyclone to reach the NCAA Singles Championship, advancing to the Round of 32 as a sophomore. Earlier in the season, Naklo won the ITA Central Region tournament to become the first individual to reach the ITA National Fall Championships. She also reached in doubles alongside Christin Hsieh, as did teammates Sofia Cabezas and Miska Kadleckova, who won the ITA Central Region doubles tournament. Naklo finished the season ranked No. 55 and Cabezas and Kadleckova were No. 85 in doubles.

Ange Oby Kajuru, who was ranked No. 107 in the final singles poll, had a stellar first season in Ames, earning All-Big 12 Second-Team Singles and Doubles honors and Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors. Kajuru and Chie Kezuka were the first doubles team in school history to be named Big 12 Individual Champions (No. 3 Doubles). Kezuka and Kajuru tied the school record with seven conference wins.

Kezuka was the first singles player to be named a Big 12 Individual Champion (No. 5 Singles). Kezuka went 26-4 in singles action and recorded an overall winning percentage of .839 as a sophomore.

The 2020-21 season ended up being the best in school history, with Iowa State going 14-8 overall, winning a school record four conference matches and earning the first NCAA Tournament berth in school history.

ISU earned a pair of victories against Texas Tech, which snapped a 29-match losing streak to the Lady Raiders. ISU also beat TCU for the first time in eight matches.

In the Big 12 Tournament, ISU beat TTU for the first conference tournament win since 1994 and then went on to the NCAA Tournament and defeated No. 24 South Carolina.

Individually, Maty Cancini broke the school record for career victories and Naklo was dominant at the NCAA Tournament, defeating the nation's No. 6 and No. 30 players. Kadleckova went 16-3 in singles play and was recognized on the All-Big 12 Second Team and the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.

In 2019-20, Kilgo helped lead the Cyclones to a 9-5 record and some monumental moments before COVID-19 ended the season early in March.

The biggest win of the season was a 4-3 victory against Iowa, snapping a 39-match losing streak that spanned 44 years to the Hawkeyes. After defeating West Virginia later that weekend, Iowa State earned its first top-50 ranking in school history, entering at No. 48.

ISU also had multiple players ranked in the same season for the first time, with Cancini being ranked in the fall and Naklo earning the highest ranking in school history at No. 72. Naklo and Christin Hsieh also became the first doubles pairing in school history to earn a ranking, topping out at No. 45.

In her first season at Iowa State, the Cyclones established themselves as a program with a bright future.

ISU earned a number of historic wins in her initial season, defeating Baylor for the first time in school history and snapping a 96-match losing streak to Big 12 schools from Texas. ISU also defeated Nebraska for the first time since 1995 and just the fourth time in the last 47 meetings.

Kilgo helped to tutor Cancini, who became just the second player in school history to be ranked nationally. Cancini, who defeated four ranked foes including No. 29 Bianca Turati of Texas, topped out in the polls at No. 74.

Ekaterina Grib earned a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman team and ISU placed a Big 12-best six student-athletes on the Academic All-Big 12 teams.

Kilgo joined Iowa State after spending the 2017-18 season as a volunteer assistant at Kansas, where she helped the Jayhawks to a 17-8 record overall and 7-2 Big 12 finish. The Jayhawks finished the season ranked No. 18 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in her lone season in Lawrence.

Kilgo played for Texas Tech from 2012-15 where she became the first Lady Raider in program history to participate in four-straight NCAA Tournament and led TTU to its first Sweet 16 appearance during her senior season.

The Lady Raiders won back-to-back Big 12 Championships in 2012 and 2013 behind Kilgo’s strong play. She earned All-Big 12 doubles honors and advanced to the NCAA Individual Doubles Championships both seasons.

A two-time singles and three-time doubles participant at the ITA All-American, Kilgo’s highest career singles rank was No. 58. She ranked as high as No. 6 nationally in doubles.

A three-year captain, she finished her career sixth in the modern era in singles wins (75) and fourth in doubles victories (84).

The Crawford, Texas native excelled academically at Texas Tech. She was a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big 12 selection. Kilgo was on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll six times, the Dean’s List twice and earned a spot on the President’s List once.

Kilgo graduated from Texas Tech in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in human sciences with concentrations in retail, restaurant hotel and institutional management, and business.

Kilgo attended Waco Midway High School where she won Class 4A singles and mixed doubles titles. She won the mixed doubles title with her brother, Kolby. Kilgo was inducted into the Midway ISD Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.