Pacific
Mustangs Hit the Road for Final Non-Conference Match, Battle with UC Davis
4/5/2023 2:45:00 PM | Women's Tennis
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly women's tennis will finish off a five-match road swing this week with a pair of matches in Northern California.
The Mustangs (8-7, 3-2 Big West) travel to Pacific at noon Friday for their final non-conference match of the season, before heading to Big West foe UC Davis on Saturday for a 10 a.m. match. You can watch action on all six courts during Saturday's dual at UC Davis here.
Cal Poly is fresh off a spring break road trip that saw them secure victories over Hawai'i Pacific University and Santa Clara, and come up short against Hawai'i, No. 72 in this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings. After starting slow, the Mustangs have won seven of their last nine duals.
Across those three duals, redshirt junior Melissa LaMette and freshman Alexandra Ozerets led the way. LaMette posted a 2-1 record in singles at the No. 2 spot, earning wins in straight sets against Hawai'i Pacific and Santa Clara. Ozerets was perfect in singles last week, grabbing the dual-clinching point for the Mustangs at the No. 4 spot against the Sharks and then improving to a team-best 10-3 on the season with a 10-point tiebreaker victory at Hawai'i.
In doubles, LaMette and Ozerets teamed up at No. 3 and helped Cal Poly clinch the doubles point against Hawai'i Pacific with a 6-3 win. It was the pair's second straight victory and the triumph allowed them to improve to 6-2 this spring. LaMette and Ozerets were also leading their match against Hawai'i 5-4 when the Rainbow Wahine clinched the doubles point. The duo is still undefeated in conference play (3-0) this season.
In Sunday's 4-2 win at Santa Clara, LaMette teamed up with freshman Sarah MacCallum for the first time and the duo earned a come from behind 7-5 victory at No. 3 to secure the doubles point for the Mustangs. It was MacCallum's first collegiate match.
Delanie Dunkle and Peyton Dunkle also improved to 8-5 at the No. 1 doubles spot this season with a 6-3 win Sunday.
Playing at the No. 1 singles spot, Kim Bhunu is 6-2 over her last nine matches. She captured her second career victory over a ranked opponent last Thursday against Hawai'i, downing No. 107 Ana Vilcek 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (7-4). Bhunu is also still undefeated in conference play with a 5-0 record.
Currently, Cal Poly sits in fifth in the Big West standings based on conference winning percentage (.600).
SCOUTING PACIFIC: The Tigers are 6-6 this season and 1-3 in West Coast Conference play. They are coming off a pair of 4-0 home defeats to WCC foes No. 4 Pepperdine and No. 46 Loyola Marymount. Despite the losses, Pacific's Klara Kosan and Karina Chao were named the WCC Doubles Team of the Week after defeating the No. 1 and No. 27 ranked doubles pairings in the nation at the time. The wins allowed the Tigers' top doubles pairing to earn a No. 32 ranking in the latest ITA poll. The Mustangs have emerged victorious in their last three meetings with Pacific, including last season when they grabbed a 5-2 win over the Tigers in Stockton.
SCOUTING UC DAVIS: After suffering losses at Cal State Fullerton and CSUN this past weekend, the Aggies (6-10) fell to 2-4 in Big West play this season and are currently on a three-match losing streak. Last season at the Mustang Tennis Complex, Cal Poly earned a hard-fought 4-3 victory over UC Davis and Bhunu secured the clinching point with a comeback win in singles. The Mustangs are a perfect 3-0 in their last three duals with the Aggies.
UP NEXT: The Mustangs will host their final two home matches of the season, taking on Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, April 15, and UC Irvine on Sunday, April 16.
Players Mentioned
