Cal Poly Travels South to Face Titans, Anteaters

Friday, April 12

Fullerton, CA

3 P.M.

Cal State Fullerton

Photo by: Eyasu Betwos

Cal Poly Travels South to Face Titans, Anteaters

4/11/2024 7:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly women's tennis team hits the road this week for a pair of crucial Big West matches, taking on Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine.

First up is a battle with the Titans at 3 p.m. Friday in Fullerton, then Cal Poly will travel a little further south on Monday for an 10:30 a.m. showdown with the Anteaters. The Mustangs were originally scheduled to play UC Irvine on Saturday and Cal State Fullerton on Sunday, but both matches had to be moved due to anticipated weather in the Southern California area this weekend.

Follow Cal Poly women's tennis on Instagram (@calpolywtennis) and X/Twitter (@CalPolyWTennis) for updates throughout both matches.

The Mustangs (8-7, 3-2 Big West) are fresh off after an electrifying home win over defending Big West champion Hawai'i on Sunday and currently sit in fifth place in the conference standings with four matches remaining.

Against the Rainbow Wahine, the Mustangs had a handful of remarkable performances, especially in doubles. At the No. 3 spot, junior Eliza Bates and sophomore Kennedy Buntrock cruised to a 6-1 win to improve their record to 4-1 this season, meanwhile, fifth-year Delanie Dunkle and junior Peyton Dunkle secured a thrilling comeback victory at No. 1 to clinch the doubles point for Cal Poly. The Dunkle sisters were trailing 5-2 and down 40-love in the eighth game of their match before they won five consecutive games to capture a dramatic 7-5 win, fighting off a handful of match points in the process. The duo boasts an 11-3 record this spring and is 4-1 in Big West play.

Delanie is currently tied with Steffi Wong for the fourth most career dual doubles victories in Division I program history with 52. She is just three wins away from passing Chelsy Thompson (2002-05) and Brittany Blalock (2007-10) for the most all-time.

In singles, sophomore Alexandra Ozerets (No. 3), graduate student Melissa LaMette (No. 4), junior Romane Mosse (No. 5) and Buntrock (No. 6) all picked up victories. Mosse upped her winning streak to eight and improved to 11-4 on the year, while Ozerets secured her fourth straight win and moved to 10-5 on the season. Mosse is a perfect 7-0 while playing at the No. 5 spot.

Cal State Fullerton (11-7) owns a 3-3 Big West record, posting wins over UC San Diego, UC Riverside and UC Davis and suffering losses to Hawai'i, Long Beach State and CSUN. Last year, the Titans beat the Mustangs in San Luis Obispo 4-3.

With four conference matches left to play, UC Irvine (5-11) is currently ninth in the Big West standings with a 1-4 record. The Anteaters' lone conference win came against UC Riverside on Feb. 8. Cal Poly has emerged victorious in each of its last six meetings with UC Irvine.

Thanks to their stellar showing against Hawai'i, the Mustangs head into their final two Big West road matches with plenty of momentum and confidence.

Following these two matches, Cal Poly returns home next week to face UC Riverside on Friday, April 19, and UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, April 21 to wrap up regular season play. Both matches are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. at the Mustang Tennis Complex.