Cal Poly Women’s Tennis headed south to San Diego on January 24th and 25th looking to open the 2026 season on a high note, only to return to San Luis Obispo after dropping both games to BYU and USD.
The following weekend, they were able to reverse course against UC Davis in their home opener, moving to 1-2 to start the year.
The Mustangs entered the 2026 season with a strong core last month, returning seven players from last year’s squad, including seniors Kennedy Buntrock, Sarah MacCallum, and Alexandra Ozerets, along with redshirt junior Amy Leather, junior Natalie Lynch, and sophomore Jessica MacCallum, while adding four newcomers.
Returning from student athlete to assistant coach, Delanie Dunkle was added to the team this past September to help her former squad from a new perspective.
The Mustangs are led by four returning 2025 All-Big West honorees, highlighted by Buntrock and Jessica MacCallum, who went 19-3 in dual singles last season.
Cal Poly has posted 13 or more wins in each of the past five seasons, and under Head Coach Ellie Williams, has compiled a 46-25-1 record since 2022.
Tough start on the road
On Saturday, Cal Poly took on BYU (3-1) at a neutral-site match, the Aztec Tennis Center at SDSU, and started with steady energy in the doubles matches.
First court senior Kennedy Buntrock and Jessica MacCallum received the first point of the day, giving Cal Poly an early lead, but their momentum was quickly stifled as BYU took the rest of the doubles matches and earned an early 1-0 lead.
In singles play, on court No. 2, Buntrock was the lone Mustang to secure a victory in a close match. She finished the day undefeated in both singles and doubles competition, though it wasn’t enough to lift her team to a win.
Other singles players, such as juniors Lynch and Candela Aparisi, were unable to close the gap on the scoreboard, losing 6-1 to BYU.
Looking for a comeback on Sunday, the Mustangs fell short at the University of San Diego’s Hogan Tennis Center against the Toreros (2-0).
Defeats in the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles matches with Buntrock and Jessica MacCallum, and Leather and senior Sarah MacCallum left Cal Poly trailing 1-0 entering singles competition.
USD took a 3-0 advantage after Lynch and Leather fell in their singles, making the Toleros one match away from victory.
At Court No. 1, Buntrock won in two sets, keeping her undefeated singles record intact so far this year.
The last singles matches, featuring Ozerets, Aparisi, and Jessica MacCallum, all went to a third set. Both Jessica MacCallum and Aparisi fell short, giving USD the 5-2 win.
Cal Poly returned home to the Ronca Tennis Center to host their Big West home opener against UC Davis (2-5, 0-2 Big West) on Sunday, Feb. 1 at 11 a.m., looking to start their conference matches with a win on their home courts.
Sunday came soon enough for the Mustangs to get their first win of the year at home with a 6-1 win against the Aggies.
Cal Poly set the tone early by sweeping all three doubles matches, highlighted by a 6-2 win from Buntrock and Jessica MacCallum at the No. 1 spot.
The Mustangs carried that momentum into singles, earning straight-set wins from Ozerets and Lynch, with Lynch clinching the match at No. 5.
Additional singles victories from Aparisi and Sarah MacCallum capped a strong team performance as Cal Poly started their Big West conference play with a win.
Busy weekend for the Mustangs
Cal Poly will be hosting two schools this weekend at their home courts.
First up will be Boise State on Friday, Feb. 6, at 12 p.m., then Saint Mary’s on Sunday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m., with the Mustangs looking to add to the win column early in the year.