Cal Poly’s Upset Bid of No. 18 USC Falls Just Short Sunday

Sunday, April 10

Los Angeles, CA

3 P.M.

USC

Photo by: Kyle Calzia / Cal Poly Athletics

Cal Poly’s Upset Bid of No. 18 USC Falls Just Short Sunday

4/10/2022 6:57:00 PM | Women's Tennis

LOS ANGELES — Redshirt sophomore Delanie Dunkle picked up her eighth consecutive singles win but Cal Poly, despite winning the doubles point, fell on the road to No. 18 USC Sunday, 4-2, snapping their eight-match win streak. The No. 72 Mustangs (13-5, 6-0 BWC) started the match off strong in doubles. The No. 1 pairing of redshirt juniors Emily Ackerman and Kim Bhunu won their match 6-4 before the No. 2 duo of redshirt sophomores Melissa LaMette and Delanie Dunkle pulled off a 7-6(3) victory to clinch the doubles point for Cal Poly. Ackerman and Bhunu have now won nine straight matches and are a team-leading 13-4 for the season. LaMette and Dunkle are now 9-3 after winning their third match in a row. In singles, the No. 18 Trojans (16-10, 6-3 PAC-12) took a 3-1 lead after getting wins at the No. 6, No. 2, and No. 1 spots. Dunkle made it 3-2 after she won at the No. 5 spot in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3 to improve her record to 10-6 this season. USC clinched the win after McKenna Koenig just pulled off a three-set win over Emily Ackerman at the No. 4 spot, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. At the No. 3 spot, LaMette was leading 4-3 in the third set when USC clinched the dual. Still in first place in the Big West standings at 6-0, Cal Poly will play its final three matches of the regular season against conference opponents starting next weekend. The Mustangs will travel south for a pair of road matches against UC Irvine on Friday, April 15 and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, April 16.