Iowa State battled Baylor in Waco, Texas, and the Bears mauled the Cyclones with a score of 5-2.
All three doubles pairs battled hard for the Cyclones, but they came up short, losing the doubles point. Gala Arangio and Valeska San Martin Ramirez took on the No. 66 duo of Isabella Harvison and Liubov Kostenko in the second doubles spot, and they stuck with them for much of the match.
The ranked pair was too much for Arangio and San Martin Ramirez, losing 6-4. Ashlee Narker and Juliette Nask lost from the third doubles spot 6-3. Anna Supapitch Kuearum and Isabella Dunlap were tied 5-5 and led the next game 40-0 before their match was called.
In singles, the Cyclones struggled to find any consistency in their play. Kuearum’s struggles continued as she lost to No. 101 Miska Kadleckova in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3. Narker also lost in straight sets 6-3, 6-0 from the second singles spot.
Nask then lost a match 6-2, 6-2, which clinched the victory for Baylor. Arangio, San Martin Ramirez and Dunlap all had their matches go into superbreakers, where Arangio and San Martin Ramirez won and Dunlap lost.
Narker makes debut in second singles spot
After spending the start of the year in the third singles spot, recent struggles from Dunlap and a burst from Narker made head coach Jaron Maestas move Narker up and Dunlap down. Narker was 4-5 in singles heading into Friday and was looking for a strong showing in a debut in the second singles spot.
Despite the high hopes and opportunity to prove herself against a talented Baylor team, Narker could not get anything going. Narker strung together a few nice points to earn three games in the first set but could not find a groove in the second set, losing 6-3, 6-0.
Arangio picks up first win
After starting the year 0-8, splitting time in the fourth, fifth and sixth singles spots, Arangio earned a first singles win of her collegiate career against the Bears. Arangio took on Danielle Tuhten, who came into Friday with a 5-4 record.
The match started with a pair of hot streaks, Arangio winning the first set 6-1 and Tuhten taking the second one 6-1. With Baylor already clinching the match, they agreed on a first to 10-point tiebreaker to decide the match. They went back and forth until Arangio went up 9-7, and a Tuhten lob shot went long, giving Arangio a first victory.
Another Cyclone ends a losing streak
San Martin Ramirez also put an end to a personal losing streak of six matches in a back-and-forth battle against Zuzanna Frankowska, which resulted in a 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-7) victory for San Martin Ramirez.
The losing streak for San Martin Ramirez dated back to Feb. 16, when the Cyclones lost to the Hawkeyes. The victory Friday marks San Martin Ramirez’s third singles win of the season.
The loss extends the Cyclones’ losing streak to 11 and drops their record to 2-11 and 0-6 in conference play. Iowa State is back in action against No. 52 TCU at 1 p.m. Sunday.
