No. 6 Seed CSUN
Mustang Women's Tennis Advances to Big West Final for 6th Straight Year
4/24/2026 7:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Senior Alexandra Ozerets delivered the dramatic match clinching point as Cal Poly women’s tennis earned a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 6 seed CSUN on Friday to secure a spot in the Big West Championship final for the sixth straight year.
The Mustangs will now face Blue-Green rival and top seed UC Santa Barbara at 10 a.m. Saturday for the conference tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Friday’s semifinal showdown with the Matadors (16-8) was a nail-biter from start to finish and Ozerets came through in the clutch to propel No. 2 seed Cal Poly (13-9) to the championship match.
With the match knotted up at 3-3, it all came down to court No. 4 in singles. After winning the first set 6-2, Ozerets dropped the second in her match 2-6. But the Mission Viejo, Calif. native wasn’t deterred by her performance in the second as she took the court with a purpose in the third set, dominating her opponent 6-0 to secure the dual win for the Mustangs, who stormed the court to celebrate the thrilling victory.
The Mustangs opened the dual by dropping the doubles point, forcing them to have to complete a comeback victory to secure a spot in the Big West final. Juniors Candela Aparisi and Natalie Lynch won 6-4 at No. 1 to improve to a team-best 12-6 this season, but Cal Poly fell at both No. 2 and 3.
In singles, Cal Poly shined as sophomore Jessica MacCallum and Aparisi dismantled their foes in straight sets to give the Mustangs the lead. First, Aparisi won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 to level the dual at 1-1, moving to 13-8 on the year. Then, Jessica MacCallum rolled to a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2, improving to 11-8 on the season to make it 2-1 in favor of the Mustangs.
After CSUN tied it up at 2-2 with a win in straight sets at No. 5, senior Kennedy Buntrock put the Mustangs on the verge of clinching the dual with an impressive 7-5, 6-4 triumph at No. 1, improving to 12-6 on the season.
A loss in straight sets at No. 6, set up Ozerets for the dual-clinching victory at No. 4. She moved to 13-9 this year and it was her 57th career dual singles win, the most in program history by five victories.
Saturday’s Big West Championship will be rematch of last year’s conference tournament final, which saw the Gauchos earn a hard-fought 4-2 victory. After falling 4-0 to UCSB in their regular season finale less than a week ago, the Mustangs will be eyeing revenge when they hit the court.
Cal Poly is 2-5 all-time in the Big West Championship match, winning it all in both 2003 and 2024.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,5,1,6,4
