The Cyclones travel to Cincinnati to battle the Bearcats for the first time in history and for the first time as Big 12 foes Friday.
Iowa State most recently lost to No. 7 Texas 4-1 in Ames, extending the Cyclones’ losing streak to 14 matches. Iowa State has a 2-14 record and a 0-9 Big 12 record, staying at the bottom of the conference.
Cincinnati has a 7-2 non-conference record but has struggled in Big 12 play with a 1-8 record, giving it an 8-10 overall record. The Bearcats started the year 5-0, with all matches being 4-0 or 7-0 sweeps.
The Bearcats defeated Northern Kentucky 7-0 Wednesday as a precursor to their match with the Cyclones on Friday.
Similarly to the Cyclones, Cincinnati has one singles player with a winning record. Rozalia Gruszczynska has a 9-8 singles record, spending most of the time in the first singles spot.
In the bottom third of the Bearcats’ singles, they have been playing by committee, trying to find anything consistent. Three different players have played sixth singles, and four have played fifth singles.
Gruszczynska and Gabrielle Guenther have spent all year playing first doubles and have put up a 9-7 record together. Sakurako Watanabe and Morgan Pyrz also have a winning doubles record at 8-3, splitting time between second and third doubles.
What seems like an ongoing story for the season is the Cyclones trying to put an end to more than their losing streak. Isabella Dunlap has lost nine straight matches, Ashlee Narker has lost four in a row and Juliette Nask is still seeking a first win with a 0-7 record.
Dunlap started the year playing second doubles and provided a veteran presence as the lone senior on the young Iowa State roster but has had trouble adapting to the strong play of the Big 12. Dunlap started the year 3-2 but has since fallen to 3-11.
Narker recently got the bump up to the second singles spot but has not won a match there yet. Since hitting 4-4, Narker has lost four straight matches to drop to 4-8.
Nask, who has been out most of the year, is still searching for a first win as a Cyclone. After going 14-10 a year ago at Michigan State, Nask has not found the same success in an Iowa State uniform.
Iowa State will face off against the Bearcats at 11 a.m. Friday in Cincinnati.
