The ISU women’s tennis team’s up-and-down season continues this weekend with matches against Kansas and Kansas State.

The Cyclones (5-5, 0-3 Big 12) will face the Kansas Jayhawks (4-10, 2-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Lawrence, Kan., followed by a match against the Kansas State Wildcats (4-9, 0-5) at noon Sunday in Manhattan, Kan.

This weekend’s matches will be the end of a nearly monthlong road stretch for the Cyclones, who last played in Ames March 3, defeating Northern Iowa 7-0.

“Being on the road a lot really isn’t a big factor,” sophomore Eve Soriano said. “It can be difficult, but you get used to it.”

Freshman Jill Palen agreed.

“[Traveling] hasn’t had a big impact on the team,” Palen said. “We usually get an extra day to rest and have lighter practices.”

The Cyclones lost to Nebraska 7-0 and defeated St. Louis 4-3 last weekend in Lincoln, Neb.

“Getting the win against St. Louis was big,” Palen said. “Especially coming off a 7-0 loss, knowing we can win tight matches gives us confidence going into this weekend.”

The team has been continuing its usual practice routine in preparation for the weekend matches, Palen said.

“We’ve been doing a lot of ground-stroke work and experimenting with different playing situations,” Palen said.

Both upcoming Cyclone opponents have struggled this year. Kansas State, like Iowa State, is still searching for its first conference win.

“We’re going to go into the matches fired up,” Soriano said. “We’ll play as hard as we can and try to get a win.”

The Cyclones return to their home courts April 10 for a match against Texas Tech.

— John Wilson