Cal Poly Women’s Tennis continues to be one of the school’s top programs and must-see tennis year in and year out.
“The team has a lot of depth,” head coach Ellie Edles Williams said. “We keep a competitive atmosphere at practice and within the team, other teams should fear that. We’re hungry. We’re tired of second place.”
Last year, the Mustangs were invited to the inaugural Universal Tennis NIT Championships, going 14-11 on the year before just falling short, losing to Hawaii in the Big West Championships.
Cal Poly’s top stars were recognized for their dominance all season, with multiple athletes bringing home Big West Conference Honors.
The ‘Grandma’ says goodbye
Kimberley Bhunu, also known as the “Grandma” by her teammates, wrapped up her phenomenal career at Cal Poly, graduating in five years.
Bhunu played in the No. 1 spot for the Mustangs in her fourth and fifth years, adding to her career resume. Her accolades include being a two-time All-Big West First Team in singles in 2022 and 2023, two-time All-Big West First Team in doubles, All-Big West Second Team in doubles and All-Big West Second Team in singles.
She is only the third player in program history to receive All-Big West honors in singles and doubles for three consecutive years (2021-23).
Replacing the top star and vocal leader for Cal Poly will be a tough role to fill.
“We definitely will miss her,” fifth year Delanie Dunkle said. “Kim is a great person, player and leader.”
Returners ready to rise to the occasion
Taking on the No. 1 spot on the team will be Delanie Dunkle in her final year as a Mustang.
She has won three consecutive All-Big West Second Team in doubles matches. Including last season, where Dunkle and her younger sister Peyton finished with a 15-8 record
In Delanie’s last season with the Mustangs, she has high expectations for herself and the team.
“I want to enjoy my last year, have fun, and make the most of my time here,” Dunkle said. “Individually, I want to be All-Big West First Team honors, that’s a big goal for me.”
Melissa LaMette will be another key contributor to the team. She is back for her fifth year after graduating last year with a business degree.
LaMette primarily played at Line No. 2 last year and she’s back in the same spot this season, in her Cal Poly career she is ninth all time in career singles victories with 40.
“I have a lot of variety in my weapons and can adjust to any style of game,” LaMette said “I can slice, drop-shot, flatten it out, loop it and can track down a lot of balls, I think that instills some fear into my opponents.”
Melissa’s craftiness is a deadly weapon in singles, but when it comes to doubles, she and her new partner are going to be tough to take down.
“I’m looking forward to doubles a lot, I and my doubles partner Romane [Mosse] had a great few matches last weekend, and it was such a high energy,” LaMette said. “We’re both really creative on the court, and we bounce off each other so it’s really fun.”
Third year Peyton Dunkle rounds out the top three singles lines.
Peyton finished last year with a 12-8 singles record playing at both lines No. 3-4 in her second season, receiving a Big West Honorable Mention for singles and Big West Second Team in doubles with Delanie.
Peyton has found a lot of success and maintains strong chemistry with her older sister.
“I want to play at the number one spot this year, I have the game for it and I know I can get a point on the board wherever I play,” Peyton Dunkle said “We want to do this for the older girls, Mel and Delanie, as a team we want to make it to the NCAA’s and win conference.”
Sophomore Sasha Ozerets will be looking to build from her award-winning freshman season as she took home Big West Freshman of the Year honors.
Ozerets won 15 singles matches in the year, showing maturity and resilience every time she stepped on the court, looking for her to be a major contributor for the Mustangs in the year.
Big (West) Expectations
The last two seasons have been everything the team could have wished for, except for the final match, the Big West Championships.
Ellie Edles Williams is back in her second year as the Mustangs’ head coach and she’s excited for the season ahead.
“We have experience at the top with Delanie and Melissa, and then down the line we have a pretty young team with a lot of hungry players,” Williams said. “Sasha and Kennedy [Buntrock] had breakout seasons last year and finished strong for us, so keep an eye on them with another year under their belt.”
The rigorous Big West schedule isn’t something that the Mustangs take lightly. They’ll have some extra support from one of their leaders, Delanie Dunkle, on the conditioning front. Dunkle has her own training and wellness social media account.
“The team knows me as the health-freak-obsessed one,” Dunkle said. “I got my personal training certification over the summer. It’s something that I’m super passionate about, and I love sharing that with the team.”
Peyton Dunkle’s off-season approach is slightly different than her fitness-wellness-guru sister, but for the fiery third-year lefty, she knows what has to be done.
“I always work hard and train but I definitely need my time off to relax and travel,” Peyton Dunkle said. “I’m someone that visualizes the end goal, how I can achieve that and then just reset, but now I’m here locked in ready to get the season going.”
Family Reunion
Peyton and Delanie aren’t the only tennis family on the women’s team.
Mike Edles, father of coach Ellie Edles Williams, has joined the Mustangs as an assistant coach.
Edles has spent 20 years of his life building up one of Cal Poly’s Big West rivals, UC Irvine, into a powerhouse tennis school, capturing four Big West Titles and three NCAA berths.
Before then, Edles had stints at CSU Bakersfield, Chapman, Cal State East Bay and Boise State, leading them to a Big Sky Championship, then joining his alma mater, the University of Hawaii.
Williams brought him out of retirement to have his championship-level experience guide them in big matches.
“It’s a pretty unique and unbelievable experience. I competed against him when I played at UC Davis, and he was coaching at UC Irvine at the time, so going against each other was really weird,” Williams said. “To be able to be on the same team as one another is a dream come true for us.”
Coach Ellie paired her dad’s wisdom with another young assistant coach, Emily Dush.
Dush played four seasons at the University of Utah before transferring to Colorado State for her fifth year of eligibility.
“Emily is fresh out of college, so to be able to have some wisdom through my dad and then some young blood with Emily really rounds out our staff,” Williams said.
Williams has made a quick impact on the new Mustangs after just one year here, and to the older players, her team-building presence is her greatest strength.
“Coach Ellie means a lot to this team. She cares about keeping us together, team bonding, and looking out for us all through the season,” LaMette said.
The Mustangs are on the road the rest of February until a home matchup on Mar. 1 against Montana State.
