The ISU women’s tennis team came out firing Friday, taking down Northern Colorado 5-2 at the Ames Racquet and Fitness Center.

The win is Iowa State’s first dual win of the season.

The win didn’t come easily, though. With Caitlin Loprinzi, the Cyclones’ No. 2 player, out because of an injury, Iowa State had to default the opening match, putting the Cyclones in a hole early by giving the Bears a 1-0 start.

In a defaulted match, one point is automatically awarded to the opposing team for singles. One of the three doubles matches is then also defaulted, making it a necessity to win both remaining doubles matches to win the doubles point.

“It’s a lot more pressure on everyone,” said junior Beth Chermel. “There’s no room for error in doubles.”

Loprinzi decided Wednesday to sit out for the weekend in an effort to prevent a stress fracture in her foot, which would bench her for the entire season.

“It’s really tough to sit on the sidelines, but I know it’s the best thing for my body,” Loprinzi said. “I’m still going to be there for the team by showing my support.”

But losing Loprinzi didn’t slow down the Cyclones on Friday. Iowa State won four of its singles matches, beginning with No. 1 singles player Jill Palen. Palen defeated Karen Groll 6-1, 6-3. At the No. 4 spot, Chrissy Derouin won a point after battling Carmen Vasos. Derouin took the first set 6-4, but lost the second set 6-7. Derouin fought back and won the tiebreaker 10-7.

Danielle Uscinski and Chermel won their matches at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots with ease, a nice birthday present for Uscinski, who turned 20 on Friday.

“I was really determined to close out my match by keeping my momentum up and staying focused,” Uscinski said. “Today was a big test, but we proved to ourselves that we can do it as a team, and we’re all ready to go out and do it tomorrow.”

The momentum from Friday’s win wasn’t enough to grab a conference win. Iowa State played Kansas on Saturday, losing 7-0. The Cyclones also fell to Oklahoma 6-1 on Sunday.

Palen scored the lone point for the Cyclones against Oklahoma when she beat Irina Lykina.

Lykina took the first set 5-7, but Palen came back to take the second 6-4, along with the tiebreaker 10-7.

“We were both really nervous [in the tiebreaker] because it was so close the whole time,” Palen said. “It was tied 7-7 at one point, but she made an error and I pulled out the win.”

ISU coach Michele Conlon said she was proud of her team’s attitude this weekend and is looking forward to Loprinzi’s return.

“The kind of person Caitlin is, her enthusiasm, her competitiveness bleeds into the rest of the team,” Conlon said.

“That’s not something you can coach.”

Loprinzi hopes to return to the courts shortly after Spring Break. In the meantime, the Cyclones will take on Colorado in Boulder on at 11 a.m. Saturday.