Saturday, May 1
Irvine, CA
9 A.M.
0
vs
4
UC Santa Barbara
Mustangs’ Historic Season Ends With Loss In Big West Tournament Championship
5/1/2021 1:13:00 PM | Women's Tennis
IRVINE, Calif. — The Cal Poly women's tennis team had their run in the Big West Tournament end Saturday in Irvine with a 0-4 loss to UC Santa Barbara in the championship match.
The Gauchos (13-3) started the match by winning a tightly contested doubles point. Their No. 3 pairing of Camille Kiss and Marta Gonzalez-Balbe first beat the Mustangs' Dominique Stone and MacKenzie Worsnop 6-2. Then the No. 2 UCSB duo of Kira Reuter and Shakhnoza Khatamova were victorious over Delanie Dunkle and Melissa LaMette 6-4.
In singles, the Gauchos' Lise Sentenac won at the No. 4 spot over Dunkle 6-1, 6-1 to put them up 2-0. At the No. 3 spot, Khatamova defeated LaMette in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 for a 3-0 lead. UCSB then clinched the victory after Reuter won at the No. 5 spot over Emily Ackerman 6-2, 6-3.
Despite the loss, 2021 was the Mustangs' best season in recent memory. They finished the season with a 14-3 overall record under sixth year head coach Kat Winterhalter, the program's most wins in a season since 2011. This was also their first appearance in the Big West Tournament championship match since 2007. Their third place finish in the conference standings during the regular season was also the highest they've finished since 2011.
Several Mustangs also had stellar years in singles and doubles. Ackerman finished the season with a 13-2 record in singles, tied for the most wins on the team, and an 11-2 combined doubles record that included a 9-0 record with Bhunu. LaMette ends the season with a 13-4 singles record to tie Ackerman for most wins and a 9-6 doubles record. In addition to a 9-6 doubles record with LaMette, Dunkle had a 11-4 record in singles to make it three Mustangs collecting double figure singles wins this year.
The Gauchos (13-3) started the match by winning a tightly contested doubles point. Their No. 3 pairing of Camille Kiss and Marta Gonzalez-Balbe first beat the Mustangs' Dominique Stone and MacKenzie Worsnop 6-2. Then the No. 2 UCSB duo of Kira Reuter and Shakhnoza Khatamova were victorious over Delanie Dunkle and Melissa LaMette 6-4.
In singles, the Gauchos' Lise Sentenac won at the No. 4 spot over Dunkle 6-1, 6-1 to put them up 2-0. At the No. 3 spot, Khatamova defeated LaMette in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 for a 3-0 lead. UCSB then clinched the victory after Reuter won at the No. 5 spot over Emily Ackerman 6-2, 6-3.
Despite the loss, 2021 was the Mustangs' best season in recent memory. They finished the season with a 14-3 overall record under sixth year head coach Kat Winterhalter, the program's most wins in a season since 2011. This was also their first appearance in the Big West Tournament championship match since 2007. Their third place finish in the conference standings during the regular season was also the highest they've finished since 2011.
Several Mustangs also had stellar years in singles and doubles. Ackerman finished the season with a 13-2 record in singles, tied for the most wins on the team, and an 11-2 combined doubles record that included a 9-0 record with Bhunu. LaMette ends the season with a 13-4 singles record to tie Ackerman for most wins and a 9-6 doubles record. In addition to a 9-6 doubles record with LaMette, Dunkle had a 11-4 record in singles to make it three Mustangs collecting double figure singles wins this year.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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