The Big 12 Conference is loaded with talent when it comes to women’s tennis and Iowa State is learning that fact the hard way.

The Cyclones dropped a pair of conference dual meets last weekend to put the season record at 4-11. The Cyclones lost 9-0 to No. 32Kansas State Saturday and 7-2 to No. 56 Kansas Sunday.

“I remain very upbeat about the season. I’ve enjoyed coaching this team and I think we have some excellent opportunities the rest of the season,” said Cyclone coach Michelle Conlon.

The Cyclones’ two victories against the Jayhawks came from freshman Kristin Gyaki at No. 5 singles and the No. 1 doubles team of Noortje Cornelissen and Karin Westberg. Cornelissen and Westberg defeated Brooke Chiller and Cheryl Mallaiah 8-2.

“Kristin Gyaki played a great match. The doubles match was also a nice win,” Conlon said. “The team responded very well from the Kansas State loss and were right in the match the whole way.”

Sunday’s loss to the Jayhawks marked the return to the lineup of Karin Westberg from a back injury. Westberg lost a 6-4, 6-4 decision to Tiffany Chang at No. 4 singles.

Gyaki rolled in the first and third sets winning them each 6-0 with a tiebreaker loss in between. She lost the second-set tiebreaker 7-3.

“I thought I played really well in the first set but I kind of suffered a mental lapse in the second. In the final set I decided to take care of some business and I got the win,” Gyaki said.

Gyaki also turned in a solid performance against Kansas State as she was the only Cyclone singles player to win a set.

She improved to 13-6 on the season in singles with the weekend split.

Moving up a spot to No. 4 singles, Gyaki lost a close match to Eva Novotna. Novotna won 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, winning the deciding tiebreaker 7-3.

“It was a really good match, both of us played very well. She had a little bit of an experience edge and I think that was the difference but I feel good about how I played. The last month has been of kind of rough so the fact that I played well over the weekend makes me feel better about my game,” Gyaki said.

The Wildcats have been on a roll of late, including an upset of No. 18 Baylor, and played like it against the Cyclones as most of the Wildcat victories were decisive.

“It was a very difficult task to play Kansas State on their home court. They just beat Baylor which is rated 18th and have some other recent wins so they have some momentum,” Conlon said.

Freshman Tara Goedjen suffered a pair of straight set matches but her improvement has caught Conlon’s eye.

Conlon feels the whole team has things to work on heading into the stretch run of the season.

“Tara Goedjen is an absolute workhorse and her game keeps improving from the hard work she puts in,” Conlon said.

“We’re all right as a team but individually I think there’s things that each player needs to work on in her game. The rest of the season is going to go fast so we need to get into that,” she said.

The Cyclones are back in action this weekend hosting a pair of dual matches at the Forker Courts if the weather cooperates. If not, the matches will be held at the Ames Fitness and Racquet Club.

The Cyclones host Gustavus Adolphus Friday at 4 p.m. followed by a meet with Luther College Saturday at 1 p.m.