Cyclones look to return to winning ways against Wichita State

Caleb Sheldon, Sports Reporter

January 30, 2026

The Iowa State vs. Oklahoma State tennis match at Ames Fitness Center, April 13, 2025, Ames, Iowa.

The Iowa State tennis team will host its second meet of the season Saturday, welcoming an extremely balanced Wichita State team to the Iowa State Tennis Facility.

The Cyclones (0-1) are looking to get back in the win column following a 5-2 loss against the Minnesota Gophers on Jan. 23.

Third-year head coach Jaron Maestas leads Iowa State. Maestas began his journey at Iowa State with a 4-17 record, but last season he saw the team improve to 11-11, reaching a high of No. 46 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s national poll.

The Cyclones won two of the three doubles matches against Minnesota to earn the coveted doubles point and give the team an early 1-0 lead. However, freshman Alicia Dale was the only Cyclone to win her singles match, defeating Minnesota’s junior Yinong Ma in the No. 6 singles match in two sets.

Sophomores Mari Paz Alberto Vilar and Julia Camblor, competing in the No. 1 and No. 3 matches, respectively, will look to put the Minnesota meet behind them and continue to build on last year’s promising freshman season.

Juniors Ashlee Narker and Stanislava Shulzhenko will compete in the No. 2 and No. 4 singles matches, while sophomore Suzanie Pretorius will fill the No. 5 spot. Dale will return to the No. 6 matches in the hopes of continuing her promising start.

Wichita State (2-3) is led by first-year head coach Jacob Eddins. The Shockers have struggled against a pair of top-10 teams in Oklahoma and Oklahoma State this season, but a pair of wins over Texas State and SMU have the Shockers looking to come into Ames and leave victorious.

Wichita State is led by 2025 American Athletic Conference doubles champion junior Xin Tong Wang, and she will aim to build on her career 39-19 record. Senior Kristina Kudryavtseva and graduate student Anne Knuettel round out the Shockers’ top three singles players.

The meet will take place at noon Saturday, Jan. 31. The Cyclones play the following day against St. Thomas at 11 a.m., as they hope to leave their homestand with a winning record. The meets can be streamed on SwingVision.

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