In the 2009 fall season, the ISU women’s tennis team has already won three singles titles and has compiled a 61–percent winning percentage in both singles and doubles. All in all, it has been a successful beginning to the 2009-2010 season for a squad that has never had a winning season.

But this weekend, when the team heads to Western Michigan University, it is in for its toughest challenge of the young season. It will be a ‘Super Challenge.’

The Cyclones will head to Kalamazoo, Mich., for a non–conference tournament known as the WMU Super Challenge.

The Super Challenge will be just that for the Cyclones, as they will face some of the nation’s toughest competition. The Cyclones will be one of only three unranked teams in the tournament that will square off against four teams ranked in the top 50 teams nationally. No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 33 Illinois, No. 47 DePaul and No. 48 Indiana will provide a great opportunity for Iowa State to face off against some of the best talent in the country.

“It is going to be a challenge for us; we really haven’t seen teams at this level yet,” said coach Armando Espinosa. “It’s a full weekend of marquee teams.”

Since traveling to Kansas and Oklahoma for a pair of tournaments two weekends ago, the team has moved practice indoors to the Ames Racquet and Fitness Center, where it has been working on honing skills and trying to “put everything together” for the final tournament of the fall season.

“We should be peaking at the right time, and now it’s really time to see what we’re capable of,” Espinosa said.

Two of the veterans on the team, junior Liza Wischer and senior Alyssa Palen, believe this weekend will present the toughest non-conference competition they have seen in their careers. Wischer and Palen paired up in doubles at the Kansas Invitational and went 3-0.

Both have also been impressive this season in singles play, with Wischer at 6-2 and Palen at 5-2 overall.

“It will really be fun to see some new competition that no one on the team has seen before,” Palen said.

In addition to Wischer and Palen, Espinosa will rely on the doubles pairs of freshman Jenna Langhorst with junior Erin Karonis, and freshman Jasmine Lee with sophomore Marie-Christine Chartier to notch some wins in doubles play.

“It’s really going to be a test for all of us to see how we can match up with these teams,” Wischer said,

Facing some of the best teams in the Midwest, the team has an opportunity this weekend to perform in the national spotlight. Espinosa hopes his team can focus on what it has learned so far this season and play to its full potential.

“We want to come out and play the best we can play, regardless of who we play,” Espinosa said.