Sophomore Suzanie Pretorius remains perfect in singles as the rest of her Cyclone teammates gain momentum, as the Cyclone Invite draws to a close.
After going 3-0 in the Huskers Invitational, Pretorius has continued to play great, winning again in singles action on day one against University of Minnesota player Anlin Xie in a close match, winning 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 7-5.
The rest of the competing Cyclones would also go undefeated on day one in singles, as freshman Gabriella Kellner won and freshman Kira Smith picked up her first collegiate win in her first singles matches.
In doubles action, day one didn’t go quite as smoothly, with Pretorius and Kellner losing their only double match of the day. Junior Valeska San Martin Ramirez and sophomore Gabriela Felix would play two doubles matches on day one, losing to both of them.
Smith was paired up with the University of Arkansas player Glennah Langford, and they would win their only doubles match of the day.
Day two saw another improvement, as Pretorius improved to 5-0 in singles so far this fall season, winning her only singles match of the day, 6-2, 7-5 against University of Arkansas player Arina Babenko.
Kellner lost her match of the day, while Smith played two matches, winning her first match of the day before losing to her doubles partner, Langford, in the second match of the day.
Felix and Martin Ramirez also ended up facing each other in singles, with Felix taking it over Martin Ramirez, 6-4, 6-1.
Day two went better as Pretorius and Kellner took their only match of the day, winning 8-7(6) while Martin Ramirez and Felix won their match 8-0. Smith had no games of doubles on day two.
Day three was a mixed day as Smith won her only singles match of the day, while Kellner and Felix lost their only singles match of the day, both going to the third set in their matches.
In doubles, only Pretorius and Martin Ramirez played as they beat their opponents, Diana Smolikova and Margaret Jaraczewski from Kansas State University, 8-5.
Strong weekend for the Cyclones
The Cyclones played at or over .500 every day over the weekend. They ended the Cyclone Invite going 4-3 in doubles and 7-5 in singles play, although one of those wins and losses is from Felix and Martin Ramirez’s match against each other.
Pretorius once again went perfect this weekend in singles play, going 2-0, while Smith also had a very strong weekend in singles play, going 3-1, with her only loss going to her doubles teammate.
Lots of grit in the team this weekend
Of the 11 singles matches and seven doubles matches played over the weekend, two of the doubles matches would need tiebreakers to decide the match.
While in singles action, Kellner’s loss in day three went right down to the wire with set scores of 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), while Felix’s loss also went down to the wire with the set scores being 6-4, 4-6, 5-7.
Even Pretorius won a gritty match in her first match of the weekend, 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-5, just one game short of every set being won in a tiebreaker.
Schedule slows down as the spring season approaches
The Cyclones only have two more guaranteed competitions left on their schedule, with the ITA Regionals coming up. The Cyclones have to do well in singles or doubles to qualify.
The Cyclones would then need to do well again to attend the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship, with the next competition being a little less than two weeks away, which gives them a break before the Cyclones return to action.
The Baylor Invite is the only non-ITA or NCAA-related event left on Iowa State’s fall schedule.
The Cyclones will return to the court Oct.16th for ITA Regionals in Norman, Oklahoma.
