Cal Poly women’s tennis came away with a 4-2 win in the semi-finals of the Big West Conference Tournament over Hawaii on Friday, Apr. 29 at the Barnes Tennis Center.
The Mustangs (17-6, 8-1 Big West) looked to continue their momentum following a victory on day one of the Big West Conference Tournament. For their second matchup, they faced off against No. 3 seed Hawaii (12-8, 7-2 Big West).
Cal Poly took an early advantage over Hawaii, stealing the doubles point with two straight finishes. The No. 2 duo of redshirt sophomores Delanie Dunkle and Melissa LaMette had the first finish of doubles play with a 6-2 win.
The Mustangs clinched the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead into singles play after the No. 1 duo of redshirt juniors Emily Ackerman and Kim Bhunu picked up a 6-4 victory.
The No. 3 duo of freshman Peyton Dunkle and graduate student Laura Bente were behind 5-4 in their match, but it went unfinished.
Hawai’i evened the score quickly, winning the first point of singles play. Bhunu played in the No. 1 spot and fell to her opponent, Lea Romain, 6-1, 6-3.
Bente got the Mustangs back on track, winning the next finish from the No. 2 spot 6-3, 6-2.
Hawai’i remained unphased and picked up another victory to even it back up at 2-2 from the No. 5 position, where Delanie Dunkle fell in two sets 6-1, 7-6.
Ackerman put the Mustangs back in the lead with a three-set victory on court number four, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0.
The only freshman in the starting lineup, Peyton Dunkle, found herself in one of the biggest moments of the match. With a 6-2, 7-6 victory in the No. 6 position, she clinched the 4-2 victory for the Mustangs.
The victory put the Mustangs into the Big West Conference Tournament Championship match where they will face off against rival, and the No. 27 team in the country, UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Apr. 30 at the Barnes Tennis Center.