In the inaugural Cal Poly Invitational, Cal Poly women’s tennis played its first matches in its newly renovated home, which now includes the Comerford Pavilion at the Ronca Tennis Center.
The Mustangs faced Fresno State and Sacramento State in the three-day round-robin tournament.
The tournament marked the end of the women’s fall season, and the Mustangs finished on a high note. Overall, Cal Poly went 15-9 in singles play and 7-3 in doubles matches, with several standout players.
Opening Day
The tournament kicked off on Friday, and the fans filled the stadium seats for the first time since the new Comferford Pavillion was built.
A big story for the Mustangs was the return of redshirt sophomore Amy Leather to the court. Leather, a sophomore from Bath, England, missed all of the 2023-24 season with knee injuries.
Leather played her first singles match in over a year on Friday but was defeated in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 3-6.
Still getting back up to speed for match action, look for Leather to be a big key for the Mustangs when their spring season begins.
Junior Kennedy Buntrock took Court No.1 to take on Fresno State’s Andjela Lopicic.
Buntrock played a big part in the Mustang’s Big West Championship run last year, playing lines No. 3-6.
She displayed her skills and dismantled Lopicic in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).
Junior Sarah MacCallum was in a thrilling three-set battle on Court No. 4. MacCallum will be in her third season with Cal Poly but has yet to get regular action in the lineup.
In the first set, she went down a quick 2-6. The rest of the team huddled together on the court to support her and give her some much-needed momentum for the rest of the match.
MacCallum won the second set in a tight 7-6 (7-5) tiebreaker using that support. All coming down to the final set, she rode that momentum to end the afternoon with a 6-2 third-set victory.
Mustang Dominance on Day 2
The Mustang doubles pairings went 4-0 on the day, highlighting the wins of MacCallum and Leather, who teamed up to win 6-4.
In singles play, the Mustangs continued to dominate, wrapping up the day with a 5-2 singles record.
Sophomore Natalie Lynch put together a strong showing over the weekend for Cal Poly.
The Corona, Calif. native went undefeated in her singles matches at 3-0 and not dropping a single set.
Lynch did not see the court as a freshman last year but is showing why she’ll play a big part in the lineup this season.
Her play features a rocket serve and powerful groundstrokes. She can flatten it out or play a heavy topspin to change up the pace on her opponent.
Lynch returned with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 victory on Friday over Fresno State’s Klara Vukicevic.
Finishing strong on Day 3
The Mustangs got off to another hot start on day three of the Cal Poly Invitational.
The morning opened with a freshman doubles pairing of Anushree Shekhera and Jessica MacCallum, the younger sister of Sarah MacCallum.
Shekhera and MacCallum showed great chemistry on the court together as they took down Fresno State’s pairing 6-3.
Jessica MacCallum was the only Mustang to go undefeated in doubles over the three days, putting together a 3-0 record.
Junior Romane Mosse partnered up with Buntrock on the third day and also pulled out a 6-3 victory.
Mosse had a very successful weekend, going 5-1 in the tournament.
Wrapping up the tournament on Day 3 was junior Sasha Ozerets on Court No. 6.
Ozerets is no stranger to long matches. Her consistent play style makes her a tough opponent in marathon matches, and this three-setter was no different.
Ozerets started strong and took an early 6-2 lead in the first set. The next set would go to her opponent 4-6, tying the match.
With her whole team in her corner, Sasha pulled out a 6-3 win in the third set after almost two and a half minutes.
Ozerets sported an undefeated record in singles over the weekend with a 3-0 record.
Cal Poly will now be training and prepping for the upcoming spring season. The Mustangs will be back on the court for matches on January 10-12 at the Cal University Invitational at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
