It may have been a little early Saturday morning to play tennis, but junior Danielle Uscinski and sophomore Caitlin Loprinzi woke up just enough to continue their hot streaks.

One could not tell when the warm-ups ended and when real play began in doubles, as the ISU tennis team took on visiting Texas Tech.

After the matches started, serves were answered with loud thuds – the balls would hit the rackets and fall straight to the ground. When serves were returned, they were to other courts.

Through all the theatrics, Texas Tech scored the doubles point by sweeping all three doubles matches in an ugly display from both teams. It was really an omen to the long, drudging matches that would take place in singles play.

“I went in there with the confidence I could win,” Uscinski said. “I played [Janet Durham] at Nationals and I beat her there, and we played last season and I lost, so I knew we were 1-1 and we would both want to win the match.”

Uscinski took the first set 6-3, and then broke Durham’s serve to take the second set 7-5. Uscinski has captured five of her last six matches on the season.

Loprinzi cruised in the first set, 6-1, but ran into some problems in the second set, hitting many of her shots into the net and dropping the second set, 6-3. She trailed 2-1 in the third set before battling back to a 4-4 tie, then winning the final two points to claim the match.

Loprinzi said she ended up putting away her opponent, Jessica Van der Drift, with sheer heart and digging deep, something that she’s been relying on since she’s started playing again. Loprinzi has won all three of her matches this season.

Freshman Kara Hickey lost a three-set match, one of the longer matches of the day. She faced Cigdem Duru and took the first set in a long battle 7-5.

Hickey struggled to get her first and second serves over in the second set, however, and dropped the set 6-2. The third set was especially tough because Duru and Hickey held their serves and played to a 4-4 tie.

Duru did break Hickey, clinched the match 6-4 and ensured a Texas Tech victory by scoring the fourth point of the day.

Texas Tech beat Iowa State by a final score of 5-2.

Junior Jill Palen also lost a tough match on the No. 1 court. Palen was keeping up with Tara Browning through the first set, battling to a 3-3 tie and then leading 6-5. Palen then made some errant shots on Browning’s serve and could not break her, forcing a tiebreak. Browning put Palen away in the tiebreak 7-4, and then cruised in the second set 6-2.

Senior Beth Chermel appeared to have control of the first set of her match, capitalizing on a good first serve and fewer errors to take a 4-2 lead in the first set.

She then made a number of unforced errors, and was unable to regain control for the rest of the match, losing the first set 6-4 and the second set 6-3. Chermel is still looking for her first win of the season.

Iowa State heads to Kansas next weekend, where in two days it will continue conference play against Kansas State and Kansas.