No. 70 Cal Poly women’s tennis had their dominance continue with a 4-2 upset win over No. 64 Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Apr. 16 at Titan Courts.
The Mustangs (15-5, 8-0 Big West) pushed their conference winning streak to eight as they now control their own destiny for a regular-season conference title. With the win, the team has reached 15 total wins for the first time since the 2011 season.
The match started with the No. 2 pairing of redshirt sophomores Delanie Dunkle and Melissa LaMette winning their match 6-2. Dunkle and LaMette are now 10-3 on the season.
Following them was the No. 3 duo of graduate transfer Laura Bente and freshman Peyton Dunkle, who clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 match victory. This moves the pairing to a 9-1 record on the year, which tops all doubles pairings in the conference.
Peyton Dunkle was the first to finish her singles match. The No. 6 matchup proved to be no problem for the freshman as she won 6-4, 6-0, improving her team-leading record to 13-3 and delivering Cal Poly a 2-0 lead.
Just like her sister, Delanie Dunkle is playing red hot tennis, winning 10 straight singles matches. Dunkle won her No. 5 matchup 6-3, 6-3 to put the Mustangs up 3-0.
Fullerton answered back, winning the next two matchups at the No. 3 and 4 spots against LeMette and junior Emily Ackerman. Junior Kim Bhunu snapped the Titan run, pulling out a hard-fought, three-set win to ensure the victory for the Mustangs.
Bhunu, who is 12-7 on the year, secured the team victory with a 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3 win in the No. 1 spot.
The Mustangs are currently on top of the Big West standings after the win with only UCSB having a chance to overtake them, as the Gauchos sit at 7-0. Santa Barbara has a match against Fullerton on Sunday, Apr. 17. A win for them will bring the Gauchos even with the Mustangs as the schools are set to match up next Saturday, April 23.
A historic Blue-Green matchup that will determine the regular-season champion will take place inside Mustang Tennis Complex on Saturday, Apr. 23 at 1:30 p.m.