Editor's note: Admission to Friday and Saturday's NCAA matches at USC is free, however anyone planning to attend must claim a ticket online HERE at least 24 hours prior to the start of the match to gain entry.
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly women's tennis team is officially dancing. The Mustangs will head to No. 11 seed USC at 2 p.m. Friday to take on the Trojans in the first round of the NCAA Championships, the NCAA announced during a selection show Monday.
The winner of Friday's first round match between the Mustangs (13-8-1) and the 11th-ranked Trojans (18-8) will advance to face the victor of 23rd-ranked San Diego (16-7) and 58th-ranked Grand Canyon (22-2) in the NCAA second round at 2 p.m. Saturday at USC's Marks Stadium.
The Mustangs (13-8-1) punched their ticket to the 64-team NCAA Championships for the third time in program history Saturday at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, earning a thrilling victory over Cal State Fullerton to secure their second Big West Championship in school history and first since 2003.Cal Poly held a watch party for the NCAA Selection Show at the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex on Monday.
Friday will mark Cal Poly's third appearance in the NCAA Championships and first since 2011, when they earned an at-large bid and fell to 24th-ranked Oklahoma 4-0 in the opening round of the tournament in Waco, Texas.
USC fell to No. 3 Stanford in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals 4-2 this past Friday and boasts four nationally ranked singles players and two nationally ranked doubles pairs. The Trojans own wins over five top-25 ranked teams this season, including No. 2 Michigan and No. 11 Cal.
Cal Poly and USC last squared off on April 10, 2022 in Los Angeles. The Mustangs, ranked No. 72 at the time, gave No. 18 USC everything they could handle, only falling 4-2. Graduate student Melissa LaMette and fifth year Delanie Dunkle both played in that match, earning a 7-6 victory together at the No. 2 doubles spot to help Cal Poly clinch the doubles point. Delanie also won her singles match at the No. 5 spot in that dual with the Trojans.
Live scoring and livestream links for Friday's NCAA first round match at No. 11 seed USC can be found above or on the Cal Poly women's tennis schedule page. Follow Cal Poly women's tennis on Instagram (@calpolywtennis) and X/Twitter (@CalPolyWTennis) for live updates throughout the match.
Teams that advance out of the second round of the NCAA Championships this weekend will compete in the Super Regionals on May 10-11. Quarterfinal matches through the national championship are scheduled to take place May 17-19 at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Cal Poly grabbed an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships in dramatic fashion in San Diego as the No. 5 seed in the Big West tournament, defeating No. 4 seed Long Beach State 4-3 in the Big West quarterfinals, No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara 4-2 in the semifinals and No. 6 seed Cal State Fullerton 4-3 in its fourth straight appearance in the conference final.
LaMette earned the match-clinching point for the Mustangs in all three of their victories at this year's Big West tournament while playing at the No. 5 singles spot. LaMette, 8-5 this spring, is currently No. 3 in Division I program history in career dual singles victories with 48.
Junior Peyton Dunkle also went a perfect 3-0 in singles at the Big West Championships while playing at the No. 2 spot, improving her season record to 12-6. Peyton and her older sister, Delanie, are 13-5 at the No. 1 doubles spot this season, tied for the seventh most dual doubles victories by a pairing in a season in Division I program history. With a 6-0 win in Saturday's Big West Championship, Delanie tied Chelsy Thompson and Brittany Blalock for the most career dual doubles victories in Division I program history with 54.
Junior Romane Mosse has been tearing it up in singles over the last two months, winning 14 of her last 15 matches. With a straight-set victory at the No. 4 spot Saturday, Mosse improved to 17-5 this spring — tied for the seventh most dual singles victories in a season in Division I program history.
