AMES — Four Cyclones will head to Montgomery, Alabama, to compete in the 78th annual Blue Gray National Tennis Classic this weekend, with matches Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Cyclones competing are Julia Camblor, Alicia Dale, Suzanie Pretorius and Stanislava Shulzhenko. All of them will see their first action of the young season.
Shulzhenko went an even 11-11 in singles and 16-16 in doubles last season.
Camblor, the former ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year, went 10-17 in singles and 15-15 in doubles in 2025-26.
Dale finished her sophomore season with an 8-9 in singles and 2-4 in doubles last year.
Pretorius started last season 5-0 in singles before finishing 12-11 in solo competition and 8-11 in doubles.
These Cyclones are hoping to build off the success their teammates had at the Husker Invitational last weekend, as they went a combined 12-6 between doubles and singles.
On Friday, the four Cyclones will split into pairs to play matches against opponents from the University of Memphis. After the doubles match, each partner will play a singles match against one of their opponents.
To advance, the Cyclones will need to win at least two of three doubles matches between and two singles matchups. Depending on the result of Friday’s matches, Saturday will have the Cyclones play against teams from either the University of Alabama at Birmingham or Wake Forest for the chance to play Sunday.
The other teams competing are Baylor, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Utah.
Shulzhenko was one half of the doubles team that won the championship last season. Shulzhenko and Mari Paz Alberto Vilar defeated opponents from Georgia Tech and outlasted Ole Miss on the scoreboard to claim victory in Montgomery in 2025.
The duo was the first in Iowa State tennis history to clinch a spot in the NCAA Doubles Championship, advancing to the round of 16.
Alberto Vilar will not be making the trip to Montgomery this year, but that will not stop Shulzhenko from attempting to go back-to-back with a new teammate this weekend.