Fresh off their two-game winning streak, the Iowa State Cyclones (4-14, 2-9 in Big 12 play) have their final road trip of the season this weekend as they’ll travel to Manhattan, Kansas, to take on the Kansas State Wildcats (7-12, 2-9 in Big 12 play). Iowa State will then head further south to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for the regular season finale against the No. 37 Oklahoma State Cowgirls (8-10, 5-6).
For the first time in nine weeks, the Cyclones entered Monday as victors following wins over Cincinnati on Friday and West Virginia on Sunday. Prior to those conference triumphs, Iowa State’s last victory was over the UNLV Rebels on Feb. 6.
In a season where positives have been hard to come by, the domination of Iowa State’s depth over the weekend was easily highlighted.
The Cyclones will need to continue relying on their balanced lineup to defeat the Wildcats.
Kansas State enters the weekend having lost its past eight conference games after opening up with victories against West Virginia and Colorado. However, momentum is building in Manhattan following a pair of victories over the Chicago State Cougars on Wednesday.
The Wildcats have thrived on the No. 6 court with a 7-4 record, piloted by sophomore Chanel Rustemova’s 4-2 record on that court. Additionally, the No. 2 court has been fairly strong for KSU, with freshman Martaa Chogsomjav holding a 4-1 record this season, according to the KStateSports website.
The rest of the lineup has struggled for the Wildcats, particularly on courts 3-5. The Cyclones can exploit these weaknesses, with Kansas State holding a combined 8-22 record on those courts.
For Iowa State to defeat the Wildcats, victory on those courts is nearly mandatory. Sophomore Julia Camblor had her best weekend of the season for the Cyclones last weekend, and her performance on the No. 3 court will set the tone for the rest of the matchup.
Competition will turn up a notch for the Cyclones as they travel to Stillwater to take on the No. 37 Oklahoma State Cowgirls on Sunday.
Despite the high ranking in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s rankings, the Cowgirls have had their flaws in recent weeks. Oklahoma State lost its last match against UCF and has had to forfeit its last three matches due to an insufficient number of players.
To the Cowgirls’ credit, all six of their losses (Oklahoma State also forfeited a match against Auburn at the start of the season) have come against teams ranked in the ITA top 75 rankings, making this a tough out for the Cyclones.
Oklahoma State has three players ranked in the top 100 of the ITA individual rankings, meaning the Cyclones will once again need to trust their strong back of the lineup to strike the upset.
Cowgirl junior Olivia Lincer will prove to be quite the challenge for Iowa State’s Mari Paz Alberto Vilar, as Lincer’s top 40 ranking is the second-best in the Big 12 conference.
Additionally, the Cowgirls will be honoring seniors Gracie Epps and Anastasiya Komar for senior night, giving the team extra motivation to win their final home game of the season.
The Cyclones need to win one more match to ensure they remain out of the Big 12 basement in the final standings, and it will lie squarely on the improved depth of the team to pick up victories over the weekend.
The match against Kansas State begins at 6 p.m. Friday, while the face-off against Oklahoma State begins at 2 p.m. Sunday. Live results can be found on the StatBroadcast website and a livestream can be viewed on the Track Tennis website.
