Iowa State tennis is heading east Friday to Urbana, Illinois, to play Illinois. The Cyclones are looking for their fifth win of the season, which would top last season’s total of four.
Iowa State is 0-3 all-time against the Fighting Illini, with the most recent match being an 8-1 loss in 1982.
The Cyclones won their most recent match against Wyoming 5-2 at home. It was a dominant all-around performance where Iowa State swept doubles and won four of the six singles matches.
One player to watch among the Cyclones is senior Anna Supapitch Kuearum. In her performances against Iowa and Wyoming, she went 2-0 in singles and doubles, which got her named the Big 12 Player of the Week last week. After her four wins last week, Kuearum moved to 17th all-time in school history for career wins.
Along with Kuearum, freshman Julia Camblor is another player to look out for. Camblor has gone 3-1 in both doubles and singles. Her most recent victory was against Wyoming where she won her singles match 6-4, 6-0.
Illinois is coming into this match 2-5, having dropped three matches in a row to No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 6 UCLA. The Fighting Illini are better than their record shows. Their two wins were against Notre Dame and Colorado, who were 4-4 and 5-1, respectively.
This should be a competitive match in enemy territory against an Illinois team that isn’t afraid of a tough schedule. A potential win would improve the Cyclones’ win streak to three games.
The game will be streamed on the Illinois Women’s Tennis website at 4 p.m. Friday.