Cal Poly women’s tennis lost both of their matchups at ITA Kickoff Weekend in Los Angeles on Friday, Jan. 28, and Saturday, Jan. 29.
Friday’s match vs. UCLA
The Mustangs lost their match against UCLA 4-0 in the Opening Round of ITA Kickoff Weekend on Friday, Jan. 28 at UCLA.
The Mustangs had a tough matchup against the No. 4 seed Bruins, which is the highest ranked team Cal Poly has faced under head coach Kat Winterhalter.
In doubles play, UCLA won at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots to secure the doubles point.
In singles play, sophomore Shreya Ravilla took the first set against UCLA’s Caroline Goldberg 6-1. However, Goldberg came back and clinched the win.
UCLA’s No. 2 single player Elysia Bolton gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead after a 6-2, 6-0 win over junior Emily Ackerman.
Bruin Elsie Wagle then pushed the UCLA lead to 3-0 after a 6-4, 6-0 defeat of Cal Poly sophomore Delanie Dunkie, who was at the number four position.
Then, UCLA’s Ava Catanzarite secured the win for the Bruins with 6-1, 6-4 win over freshman Peyton Dunkle at the number five spot. This was Peyton’s first loss in singles this season.
When the match was called, Cal Poly’s Kim Bhunu was in a close second set at the No.1 spot against Bruin Abbey Forbes, who is ranked No.68 in the nation in singles. Meanwhile, Mustang sophomore Melissa LaMette was tied 3-3 in the second set against Sasha Vagramov, who is ranked No. 49 in the country in singles.
Saturday’s match vs. Denver
The Mustangs fell to the University of Denver 4-2 in the consolation match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend tournament on Saturday, Jan. 29 in Los Angeles.
Despite winning the doubles point, the Mustangs (1-2) only won one singles match as Denver collected four singles match victories to secure the win.
In doubles, the Mustangs’ No.1 duo of Ackerman and Bhunu started off the competition by winning their match 6-2. After the Pioneers No. 3 duo won their match, Cal Poly’s No. 2 pairing of Delanie Dunkle and LaMette clinched the doubles point after a 6-3 victory.
In singles, the Pioneers collected three consecutive singles match points.
Denver started by picking up a 7-5, 6-3 win at the No. 6 spot to tie the match 1-1. The Pioneers then got a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory at the No. 1 spot to take a 2-1 lead.
Denver extended their lead to 3-1 at the No. 5 spot, but the Mustangs cut the lead to 3-2 after Ackerman won 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-5. However, the Pioneers clinched the match at the No. 3 spot to secure the 4-2 victory.
The Mustangs will now get ready for their first home game of the season when they host Sacramento State on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 1:30 p.m.