The ISU tennis team faced its toughest test of the season on Friday.

The No. 4 Baylor Lady Bears were able to leave the Ames Racquet and Fitness Center victorious with a score of 6-1, improving their record to 12-1. The loss dropped the Cyclones’ overall record to 3-4, the first time this season it has been below the .500 mark.

Reka Kelemen was the only Cyclone to post victories in both her singles and doubles matches. Teaming up with freshman Liza Wischer, Kelemen was narrowly able to down the Lady Bear double team of Natalie Holmes and Zuzana Chmelarova by a score of 8-6. The freshman from Budapest, Hungary, would later secure the Cyclones’ lone singles victory when she again defeated Holmes, 7-5, 6-2. With the win, Kelemen improved her overall season record to 5-1.

Aside from Kelemen’s victory, the Cyclones were not able to win another set. Three of the matches, however, saw the Cyclones come tantalizingly close – in each instance, a tiebreaker was necessary to decide the first set.

The eighth-ranked player in the country, Baylor’s Lenka Broosova, was nearly upset when freshman Erin Karonis forced a tiebreaker in their competition. Karonis lost the set 7-6 and would ultimately lose the match when she was swept in the second set, 6-0.

The other two tiebreakers ended up in Baylor victories as well when Jana Bielikova was able to defeat Caitlin Loprinzi, 7-6, 6-3, and Jelena Stanivuk won over Chrissy Derouin, 7-6, 6-0.

In doubles matches, Loprinzi and Kara Hickey played the 2nd-ranked doubles team of Lenka Broosova and Zuzana Chmelerova close, but ultimately lost, 8-4. The setback was Loprinzi’s first of the season in doubles play.

Despite losing the match to such a highly ranked opponent, Loprinzi felt the meet will prove beneficial in the long run.

“No one left the match feeling [Baylor] was tremendously special. They were a very good team, but we were able to stay with them for the most part,” Loprinzi said. “The way we played proves that we can compete with the highest level and should help us to build confidence we can use for the rest of the season.”

The Cyclones’ next shot at improving their record will come on Saturday, when they welcome the Texas Tech Lady Raiders to town. The meet is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Ames Racquet and Fitness Center.