Grand Canyon
Mustang Women's Tennis Heads to Tucson to Battle GCU, Arizona
1/19/2023 10:40:00 AM | Women's Tennis
WATCH
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After having the Cal Winter Invite on Jan. 13-15 canceled due to inclement weather, the Cal Poly women's tennis program will officially open its 2023 spring season with a pair of duals this weekend in Tucson.
First up for the Mustangs is a neutral-site match with Grand Canyon at 11 a.m. PST Saturday in Tucson. The Antelopes opened their spring campaign this past weekend with a 7-0 loss at No. 19 Arizona State and a 4-3 home defeat to UC San Diego.
Last year, GCU finished with an 8-10 overall record and entered the WAC Tournament as the top seed before falling to No. 8 seed Abilene Christian 4-3 in the first round.
This will be the Mustangs' third meeting all-time with Grand Canyon. Cal Poly won the two previous matchups on Feb. 5, 2021, and March 1, 2020, by the same score, 6-1.
Cal Poly will wrap up its trip to Tucson on Sunday with a 10 a.m. PST battle against Arizona. It will be the Mustangs' first meeting with the Wildcats since Feb. 18, 2012.
In their season debut on Jan. 15, Arizona took down UTEP 5-1. Last year, the Wildcats were 16-11, including 3-7 in Pac-12 play.
Cal Poly is coming off one of its most successful seasons in program history, achieving a 17-7 overall record in 2022, the program's second most wins in a single season in Division I history and their most since 2003. The team rolled through Big West play with an 8-1 record to finish second in the regular season standings, the Mustangs' highest finish since 2011. Cal Poly is determined to build off those feats this spring under first-year head coach Ellie Edles Williams.
Cal Poly came up short against No. 27 UC Santa Barbara in the 2022 Big West Championship, but ended the season ranked No. 70 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association team poll, marking the second straight year the program ended the season ranked among the top 75 teams in the nation.
Plenty of talent is back from that squad, including four who received All-Big West honors — graduate student Kim Bhunu (first team singles, first team doubles), redshirt junior Delanie Dunkle (second team doubles, sophomore Peyton Dunkle (honorable mention doubles) and redshirt junior Melissa LaMette (second team doubles, honorable mention singles).
With a 34-9 career record in singles, LaMette (pictured above) enters the 2023 season with the best winning percentage (.790) in duals in program history. In doubles, Bhunu currently ranks fourth all-time in winning percentage (.775) in duals in Cal Poly history with a 31-9 record.
Junior Shreya Ravilla and sophomores Eliza Bates and Misha Berry are also back, giving Cal Poly a total of seven returners. Kennedy Buntrock, Sarah MacCallum and Alexandra Ozerets make up a promising freshman class for the Mustangs.
Cal Poly will remain on the road after its tour through Arizona, visiting Fresno on Feb. 11-12 for matches against Washington State and Fresno State.
Players Mentioned
