No. 70 Mustangs Blank UC Irvine to Remain Unbeaten in Big West

Friday, April 15

Irvine, CA

1:30 P.M.

UC Irvine

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

No. 70 Mustangs Blank UC Irvine to Remain Unbeaten in Big West

4/15/2022 8:38:00 PM | Women's Tennis

IRVINE, Calif. — The Cal Poly women's tennis team had a dominant performance Friday, picking up a 7-0 shutout win on the road against UC Irvine to remain undefeated in Big West play. The No. 70 Mustangs (14-5, 7-0 BWC) moved to 7-0 in conference play with the win to keep pace with No. 25 UCSB, who is 6-0, for first place in the standings. Cal Poly started the match by taking the doubles point over the Anteaters (8-12, 1-5 BWC). The No. 3 pairing of grad transfer Laura Bente and freshman Peyton Dunkle kicked things off for the Mustangs with a 6-0 shutout to improve to 8-1 as a tandem this year. The No. 1 duo of redshirt juniors Emily Ackerman and Kim Bhunu clinched the point after winning their match also in shutout fashion, 6-0. They've now won 10 in a row and are a team-best 14-4 on the season. In singles, Peyton Dunkle didn't drop a game at the No. 6 spot to put the Mustangs ahead 2-0, winning 6-0, 6-0. She is now 12-3 on the year, including 4-0 against Big West opponents. Her sister, redshirt sophomore Delanie Dunkle was right behind her, getting the win at the No. 5 spot, 6-1, 6-2. She's won nine matches in a row and is now 11-6. The dual was clinched for Cal Poly by Ackerman (pictured at top) after she won at the No. 4 spot, 6-3, 6-0 to improve her record against Big West opponents this year to 4-2. Also getting wins for the Mustangs were redshirt sophomore Melissa LaMette at the No. 3 spot, Bhunu at the No. 1 spot, and Bente at the No. 2 spot. LaMette has now won six in a row and is 12-5 overall, including 7-0 in Big West play. Cal Poly will look to pick up a big win Saturday when they travel to Fullerton to face No. 64 Cal State Fullerton at 11 a.m. The Titans are 14-5 overall and 4-2 in the Big West.