Iowa State heads west to Nebraska
Senior Samantha Budai played for Iowa State Tennis on April 23. She went against Viktoriya Lushkova of Oklahoma and fell 0-6. They fell 0-4 against Oklahoma.
February 21, 2018
The Iowa State women’s tennis team will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, this weekend to face three teams. The Cyclones will go up against the Creighton Bluejays on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m.
The following day, Iowa State will compete against Nebraska at 10 a.m. and Omaha at 2 p.m.
“After coming back from a two-week break the players had a lot of rest,” said coach Armando Espinosa. “We got back to a fresh start, I did not want them to do a whole lot, especially since we’re going up against three teams this weekend.
“This week I hammered on the girls of what did not go well. We missed our first four balls and we were up a set, but we could not adjust after they changed their game plan.”
The Cyclones lead the series against Creighton 11-2. The most recent meeting was in 2009 when the Cyclones defeated the Bluejays 5-2. Iowa State has only been victorious against the Cornhuskers three times in 45 tries, while the Cyclones lead their series record against Mavericks, 7-0. The two teams met last February and Iowa State defeated the Mavericks with a 4-0 win in Des Moines.
“All of these teams can be very lethal to us if we are not careful,” Espinosa said. “We have to come out disciplined on all of our matches. If we are, we can beat anybody.”
The Cyclones have had a few weeks to relax, study and digest their new opponents for this week’s matchup. This week has been a challenge since the Cyclones recently came back from a trip Feb. 18 and have had Monday and Tuesday off to get back into their schedules.
“Its been very challenging. I want to push them, but they need their rest for a tough weekend ahead,” Espinosa said. “We have practiced an immense amount of aggressive serves as well as blocking these aggressive shots.”
After this hectic week of matches, the Cyclones will head to Florida for another road trip. After the Florida trip, the Big 12 season is up next, which begins with Oklahoma State on March 17.
“Playing Nebraska this weekend will give a taste of a Big 12 team and Florida will be a good test for us as well due to getting readjusted to the weather so we can be well prepared ahead of time,” Espinosa said.
