The 12-seed Cyclones take on 5-seed BYU in the first round of the tennis Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Iowa State ended the regular season with a 5-2 win over Houston in Ames, which gave the team its fourth win of the season and its second conference win. Iowa State ended with a 4-16 overall record and 2-11 Big 12 record.
Iowa State lost to BYU 6-1 on March 14 during the regular season when BYU was ranked No. 35. Since then, the Cougars have dropped five spots to No. 40 nationally heading into the conference tournaments.
The match in March was the second time the two teams have played each other all-time, but the first as Big 12 opponents. BYU has won both matchups and will look to beat the Cyclones for a third time this season Wednesday.
BYU ended the year with a 16-6 record, with four nationally-ranked wins. The Cougars ended the year with wins against Cincinnati and West Virginia.
In the regular season matchup between the Cyclones and Cougars, Ashlee Narker was the lone Cyclone to win a match. Narker won the match from the third spot 7-5, 6-3, against Kendall Kovick.
The Cougars’ Yujia (Bobo) Huang, who was ranked No. 74 when Iowa State and BYU first faced off, is now No. 114 in the rankings. Anna Supapitch Kuearum lost in straight sets against Huang in the first matchup 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.
A factor that will be crucial to Iowa State pulling off an upset against the Cougars will be whether or not Isabella Dunlap is available. Being short a player against a team that nearly swept Iowa State does not stack up well for the Cyclones.
Despite the poor regular season record, the Cyclones are hitting their stride late in the year. Four Cyclones won their singles match against Houston.
The path for Iowa State is tough, and even if the team gets through BYU, things will only get tougher. The winner of Iowa State-BYU will take on the winner of Texas Tech-Cincinnati, and Texas Tech handled Iowa State 4-0 in March.
Iowa State and BYU face off at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, and the winner will play again in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Thursday.
