No. 56 Iowa State is headed west for its matches with BYU on Thursday and Utah on Saturday. The Cyclones sit at 9-7 overall and 3-5 in conference.
BYU Preview
Iowa State’s record against BYU is 0-3 all-time. This will be the first time Iowa State has played BYU in Utah.
In the Cyclones’ last match, they lost 4-2 to No. 37 TCU, which ranked No. 33 at the time. Iowa State was able to keep it close despite losing the doubles point.
In that match, freshmen Julia Camblor and Mari Paz Alberto Vilar picked up their ninth and eighth singles wins, respectively.
Senior Anna Supapitch Kuearum and freshman Cristina Ramos Sierra were up 5-4 to the No. 18-ranked pairing of Isabel Pascual and Jade Otway before the match was unfinished.
On the other hand, BYU sits at 14-6 and 4-3 in conference. The Cougars are also enjoying a three-game win streak.
In its most recent match, BYU defeated West Virginia 4-0 on the road. That was the second win in its two-game road trip.
This match will feature nationally ranked players on both teams. Iowa State’s Kuearum is ranked No. 72 in singles. BYU’s Yujia Huang and Kendall Kovick are the No. 69-ranked doubles pairing.
This will be another tough team in a string of difficult opponents the Cyclones have had to face in the Big 12.
Iowa State plays BYU at 1 p.m. Thursday in Provo, Utah.
Utah Preview
After BYU, Iowa State will face Utah to close out its road trip in the Beehive State. The Utes are 7-9 overall and 2-5 in the Big 12.
This match will be unique because it’s the first time in program history that the Cyclones will play Utah.
Iowa State will be looking to give the Utes their second home loss of the year. Utah is a dominant 6-1 on home court, but is 1-6 on the road.
Look out for Kuearum in this match. She is 9-4 in singles overall and 4-3 in conference. If Kuearum gets two singles wins, she will tie with herself for third place for the most conference singles wins in a season by a Cyclone.
If Kuearum gets four singles wins, she will tie for first in both the most career conference singles wins and most conference singles wins in a season.
For Utah, watch out for Kaila Barksdale. She is 10-4 overall in singles and 2-3 in conference. Barksdale has gone 6-3 in her last 10 matches, with one unfinished match.
This will be another competitive opponent Iowa State will face. The Big 12 is a gauntlet with several teams either currently ranked or having been ranked previously.
Iowa State plays Utah at noon Saturday in Salt Lake City.
