It’s a four-hour flight between the two schools, but the Iowa State Cyclones (2-12) will take on the No. 39 Arizona Wildcats (13-8) on Friday before traveling north to take on the Wildcats’ in-state rival, the No. 16 Arizona State Sun Devils (13-4), on Sunday.
Iowa State currently sits in 15th place in the 16-team Big 12 this tennis season with a 0-7 conference record to pair with its 2-5 non-conference record. Only West Virginia trails the Cyclones, boasting a 6-9 overall record but a 0-8 record to begin conference play.
Things don’t get any easier for the Cyclones, as they take on a pair of top-40 conference opponents, both of which are riding a three-game win streak.
The Arizona Wildcats have won six of their past seven games, with their lone loss coming at the hands of the Sun Devils.
The Cyclones and Wildcats have only played against each other one time in each school’s history, with Iowa State edging out Arizona 4-3 in Ames last season. The Cyclones won due to a strong showing from the bottom half of the lineup, something that will be much more difficult this season due to Arizona’s improved depth.
On the No. 4 singles court, the Wildcats have used four different athletes, each with a win percentage on that court of .500 or better. Things are even worse for the Cyclones on the No. 5 court, where Arizona senior Tanvi Narendran has locked down an 8-1 record on the season.
Arizona has three different players who have won at least three matches on the No. 6 court, highlighting the enviable depth of the Wildcats.
In order to defeat Arizona, the Cyclones will need a dominant showing on the higher courts. The Cyclones won their first doubles point in the last 11 matches against Houston on Sunday, and winning the doubles point may go a long way as the Cyclones try to stage the upset.
The matchup between Arizona and Iowa State will be the first meeting in Tucson for the Wildcats since March 8. Arizona will take on Kansas to finish its homestand March 29.
100 miles north, the Arizona State Sun Devils will be preparing to face the Cyclones on Sunday after taking on the Kansas Jayhawks to open the weekend.
The Sun Devils are currently fourth in the Big 12 with a 5-2 conference record. They’ve won five of their last six matches, including three victories over ranked opponents.
The strength of the Sun Devils is the opposite of the Wildcats. Arizona was built to win games with dominant performances at the bottom of the lineup; for Arizona State, the top of the rotation is one of the best in the nation.
Junior Emilija Tverijonaite is the top-ranked player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles rankings, coming in at No. 22. Her 10-2 record is among the best in the Big 12 across any court.
Fellow junior Sara Svetac holds a 7-3 record with a 5-2 record on the No. 2 court and senior Vivian Ovrootsky is a mind-boggling 14-0 on the season with 12 of those victories coming on the No. 3 court.
In what could be a silver lining for the Cyclones, the rest of the roster is around .500, and Arizona State especially struggles on the No. 5 court, with a 4-6 record.
The Cyclones will need a masterful performance from their bottom of the roster in order to have a fighting chance against the Sun Devils, although the bottom of the order is what propelled Iowa State to its early-season victories.
The matchup between Arizona and Iowa State will be at 2 p.m. Friday, while the match against Arizona State will be at 2 p.m. Sunday. Live results can be found on the StatBroadcast website and the matches can be streamed online on PlaySight.
