The Cyclones tennis team is already in action on Friday in two separate events. Iowa State sent three players to the H-E-B Invitational in Waco, Texas for a weekend tournament. Karen Alvarez will team up with Baylor’s Daria Rakitskaya to clash with Mississippi State at 9 a.m. followed by the duo of Margarita Timakova and Oumaima Aziz at 10.

After Friday, action starts back up at 9 a.m. Saturday followed by brackets being released and more action on Sunday. Other teams at the Invitational include Baylor, Texas, TCU, Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, UTSA and Houston.

The other two Cyclones competing this weekend are Maty Cancini and Thesaporn Naklo. Each were selected to play at the 2019 ITA Women’s All American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma – they’re the first to be selected for such in school history. Brackets for this tournament are expected to be released Friday and filled with some of the best competition from around the nation. Maty will be coming off of a Gopher Invitational championship to test her skills and Thesaporn will be entering this tournament rested following a weekend off.

The Cyclones are coming off of a successful weekend at the Gopher Invitational with multiple place winners, a 6-0 day, and a 12-5 record in doubles. However, the team will be truly battle tested with competition this weekend and results from this should give an idea of where the team stands after two tournaments.