Oklahoma State swept the Cyclones out of Stillwater, Oklahoma, with a 7-0 defeat Sunday to continue Iowa State’s road struggles.
Doubles matches were wrapped up quickly, with the Cowgirls’ second doubles pairing dominating the duo of Ashlee Narker and Valeska San Martin Ramirez. Anna Supapitch Kuearum and Isabella Dunlap were trailing 4-1 before the match was called due to a forfeit in the third doubles spot.
Only needing two wins in singles to clinch the victory because of a forfeit in the sixth singles slot, the fourth and fifth spots for Oklahoma State made quick work of Gala Arangio and San Martin Ramirez.
No. 56 Safiya Carrington beat San Martin Ramirez 6-2, 6-1, and No. 84 Ayumi Miyamoto beat Arangio 6-1, 6-0. Kuearum, Dunlap and Narker lost in a third-set super-breaker after splitting the first two sets with their opponents.
Oklahoma State’s very talented roster
In a sport with so many nationwide athletes with six to eight players on each roster, having six ranked singles players is impressive. Each of the Cowgirls could be interchangeable and play from any of the singles spots on a given day.
Ange Oby Kajuru is the Cowgirls’ top-ranked player, currently No. 4 in the ITA rankings, and has played most of the season from the second singles spot while her teammate, No. 9 Anastasiya Komar, has played from the first singles spot. Kajuru had herself a day against her old team, as the junior transferred from Iowa State to Oklahoma State following the 2022-23 season.
Not enough gas
Playing in a second match in 48 hours wore down the Cyclones earlier than usual in Sunday’s match. Kuearum, Dunlap and Narker were all placed in super-breakers with opportunities to earn themselves a ranked win.
Instead, all three of them lost the super-breaker and left Stillwater empty-handed. Kuearum lost her match 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 0-1 (8-10), Dunlap lost 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 0-1 (4-10) and Narker lost 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 0-1 (6-10).
Losing streak continues
After a 2-0 start to the season, one would not expect the Cyclones to have a 2-7 record nine matches in. Multiple factors play into the seven-match slide, but strong, consistent play must become the norm before the blame can be placed anywhere else.
Lack of depth, long travel, short recovery time, new roster and new coaching staff. All of these are true about the Iowa State team, but it is hard not to point out that other schools encounter the same problems.
The Cyclones are back in action against head coach Jaron Maestas’ former team, Kansas, on Saturday in Lawrence, Kansas.
