Seniors finish home careers with win
Senior Jenna Langhorst returns the ball against West Virginia on Sunday, April 14, 2013, at Ames Racquet and Fitness.
April 14, 2013
The seniors on the ISU tennis team were able to leave their final home meet on top.
The Cyclones (8-12, 1-6 Big 12) defeated West Virginia (4-14, 0-7 Big 12) by a score of 5-2 to clinch the team’s first conference victory of the season.
“Everybody fought hard today and everybody can learn from this,” said coach Armando Espinosa. “Coming out with our first Big 12 win is huge for us.”
Iowa State won three singles matches in two sets before Meghan Cassens sealed the victory with a three-set win against Ikttesh Chatal. All three doubles matches were claimed by the Cyclones on their way to winning the doubles point and ending the day with a 5-2 win.
The meet against the Mountaineers was the final home meet of the season and the last for the three seniors on the team.
Jenna Langhorst, a senior from Palatine, Ill., won her doubles match with sophomore Ksenia Pronina 8-5 and is optimistic about the future matches after her last home meet.
“We all really wanted to win and everybody came out and gave it their all,” Langhorst said. “It was good to get a last win at home. It’s sad that it was my last meet at home, but I’m ready for the next matches and the Big 12 tournament.”
Ellie Nixon, a senior from Des Moines, was happy to get a team win to end her four years as a Cyclone.
“It’s always good getting a Big 12 win and especially at home,” Nixon said. “It’s a nice way to end the last four years.”
Simona Cacciuttolo, a senior from Los Andes, Chile, defeated Audrey Wooland in two sets before teaming up with Cassens to defeat Wooland and Emily Mathis in doubles. Cacciuttolo spent a year at USC Upstate before transferring to Iowa State in 2010.
“I just wanted to win. This was the last time for me to play here against a good team in front of fans, friends and my boyfriend, so I was just focused on winning,” Cacciuttolo said. “I played really well against a good opponent who has been doing well against her opponents, so it was a good win. Today gave us a lot of confidence and everybody is ready to get out and win more matches.”
