Traveling partners became opponents this weekend at the Ames Racquet and Fitness Center when Iowa State hosted No. 46 Nebraska in a Big 12 Conference match Friday.

In doubles action, the pair of junior Erin Karonis and freshman Jenna Langhorst fell 8-5 to Nebraska’s Madeleine Geibert and Stefanie Weinstein. At No. 2 doubles, the sophomore tandem of Tessa Lang and Maria Macedo picked up its sixth straight doubles victory 8-7 (7-3) over Wiveca Swarting and Janine Weinreich. Leading the doubles pairings with 10 victories on the season, junior Liza Wischer and senior Alyssa Palen were unable to earn the doubles point as they fell 8-1 to Jennifer Holmberg and Mary Weatherholt.

With the momentum from winning the doubles point, Nebraska (16-2, 5-0 Big 12) made quick work of the Cyclones, winning the first five singles matches in straight sets to take a 6-0 lead into the final match. In the final match of the day, at No. 6 singles, Wischer picked up her ninth singles victory of the season with a 6-4, 1-6, 11-9 win over Holmberg.

The 6-1 loss puts the Cyclones at 9-9 (2-4) on the season. Despite only winning two matches Friday, coach Armanwdo Espinosa felt his team didn’t stoop below the playing level of one of the hottest teams in the country.

“The confidence they had coming in and being 15-2 was a huge difference,” Espinosa said. “It was a good match, we played really hard and we played to their level.”

Iowa State’s next and final home match of the season will be Sunday against Texas Tech. It will be the final match the Cyclones play against a team with a lesser amount of Big 12 wins for the remainder of the season. The match against the Red Raiders (6-9, 1-4) will be crucial in order for the Cyclones to stay at or even improve upon their current eighth-place position in the Big 12.

With the Big 12 Tournament three weeks away, Espinosa sees improvement amongst the team when it comes to the tougher teams in the Big 12, such as Nebraska.

“The fact that we didn’t win as many matches [against Nebraska] doesn’t really mean much,” Espinosa said. “Most importantly, we learned that we needed to do a little better of a job getting through against the tough teams.”