The Cal Poly Women’s Tennis team took a trip to Orange County last weekend with a five-win streak and came home with a loss, breaking their six-game undefeated streak in conference matches this season.
On Friday, Cal Poly (6-1) won against Cal State Fullerton (5-2) by just one point, with a final score of 4-3. Two days later, on Sunday, UC Irvine ended the Mustangs’ winning streak by a score of 4-3, moving them out of a tie for first in the Big West conference.
Starting the weekend strong
The Mustangs rallied for a 4-3 comeback win over Cal State Fullerton on Friday, winning four singles matches to maintain their then six-match win streak.
For the third straight match, the No. 73 Mustangs dropped the doubles point but bounced back to claim the dual. The Titans grabbed the first point with wins from courts No. 1 and No. 3.
Cal Poly responded quickly in singles, taking a 2-1 lead behind strong outings from junior Candela Aparisi and senior Kennedy Buntrock.
Aparisi cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 3, her fourth straight win, improving to 10-7 on the season. Buntrock followed with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 1, moving to 10-5 this year and tying for ninth in program history with her 43rd career dual singles win.
Senior Sarah MacCallum pushed the Mustangs ahead 3-1 with a comeback win at No. 6. After dropping the opening set 2-6, she responded with 6-2, 6-1 wins to stay undefeated in conference play.
Fullerton closed the gap to 3-2 after Natalie Lynch fell in a three-set battle at No. 5.
Sophomore Jessica MacCallum then clinched the match for Cal Poly with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory at No. 2.
Alexandria Ozerets, the program’s Division I record holder for dual singles wins, rounded out the day with a narrow three-set loss at No. 4, falling 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 5-7.
The last match on the road
With one more conference match on the road left for the season, the Mustangs came in eager to continue their winning streak, but were shut down at the last moment.
After a two-hour weather delay, the dual began with singles play instead of doubles.
Following a loss at No. 1, Jessica MacCallum evened the score at 1-1 with a solid 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 2. The victory improved her record to 9-5 in the No. 2 spot this season and 5-2 in Big West matches.
Cal Poly then dropped straight-set matches at No. 5 and No. 6, giving UC Irvine (12-7, 3-4 Big West) a 3-1 advantage. The Mustangs answered with a pair of thrilling three-set wins at No. 3 and No. 4.
At No. 3, Aparisi battled to a 7-6 (12-10), 3-6, 6-4 victory, improving to 11-7 overall and 5-1 in conference play.
Ozerets followed with a key comeback win at No. 4 to tie the match at 3-3. After dropping the first set 3-6, she rallied to take the final two sets 6-2, earning her program-record 55th career singles win and moving to 11-8 on the season (5-2 Big West).
With the dual tied 3-3, the final point came down to doubles.
Junior Natalie Lynch and Aparisi delivered a dominant 6-1 win at No. 2, improving to a team-best 10-5 overall and 4-0 in conference play. However, Cal Poly fell at No. 1 and No. 3, allowing the Anteaters to secure the 4-3 victory.
Final conference matches
With two matches remaining, Cal Poly now sits in second place in the conference standings behind rival UC Santa Barbara, who are 7-0.
The Mustangs return home to host UC Riverside on Wednesday at noon before facing UCSB on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Ronca Tennis Center to close out the regular season.
Alumni Day and Senior Day are set to be on the last match of the season, during the Blue-Green rivalry, making for a thrilling Saturday for the Mustangs.