The Cal Poly women’s tennis team lost its first two duals of the season against Sonoma State and San Jose State on Saturday, Jan. 27 and Sunday, Jan. 28 in San Jose.
Saturday versus Sonoma State
The Mustangs fell to Sonoma State on Saturday afternoon to open their season by a final score of 4-3 on San Jose State’s campus.
The Seawolves claimed the doubles point for themselves after sophomore Carolyn Brooner and senior Jensyn Warren defeated freshman Kim Bhunu and junior Emily Louie-Meadors 6-4 on the first court. Sonoma State’s duo of freshman Caroline Alfonsin and sophomore Hannah Highsmith were also victorious, taking down Mustangs freshman Emily Ackerman and sophomore Grace Olyphant 6-3.
In singles action, both the Mustangs and Seawolves traded off wins across all six courts up until the final match.
Junior Claire Bouquet began singles play for the Mustangs with a win against the Seawolves’ Highsmith in straight sets, 6-0 and 6-1 in the No. 6 spot. Junior Jenna DeTurk’s win in straight sets (6-2, 6-1) against Mustangs senior Caroline Williams on court four put Sonoma State up again.
Sophomore MacKenzie Worsnop defeated Alfonsin at the No. 5 position in two sets (7-5, 6-2) to tie the overall score at 2-2. Brooner defeated Olyphant on court three in straight sets (6-1, 7-6 [7-5]) to put Sonoma State up by one point, before Louie-Meadors bested Seawolves senior Clarissa Colling in three sets (6-2, 3-6, 6-0) to tie the dual up again at 3-3.
The dual-deciding point was decided at the No. 1 spot between the Mustangs’ Bhunu and the Seawolves’ Warren. While Bhunu won the first set 7-5 for Cal Poly, Warren took the next two sets 6-3 and 6-4 to win the match and the dual for Sonoma State.
Sunday versus San Jose State
San Jose State defeated Cal Poly in Sunday afternoon’s dual meet by a final score of 5-2.
The Spartans (2-0) began the dual by winning the doubles point, with sophomores Laura Malsert and Savannah Sendar winning their match 6-1 against Bhunu and Louie-Meadors at the No. 1 spot. Freshman Alba Pedrero Galindo and senior Miyo Kobayashi defeated the Mustangs No. 2 pair Worsnop and Williams in the match’s lone set (7-6 [9-7]) to secure the doubles point.
Despite the Spartans taking the doubles point, Olyphant and Ackerman recorded the first doubles win of the dual season as a pair and for the Mustangs (0-2) after the pair defeated sophomore Klara Milojkovic and freshman Mathilda Vidgren in the match’s lone set, 7-5.
In singles action, Louie-Meadors defeated Pedrero Galindo in two straight sets (6-3, 6-0) to begin her singles season at 2-0. However, three consecutive wins from Spartans players secured victory for the squad. Bhunu gave the Mustangs a consolatory point with a win in three sets (6-4, 5-7, 1-0 [10-7]) against Spartans No. 2 player Kobayashi.
Cal Poly will travel to Santa Barbara next weekend in search of their first dual win of the season. The Mustangs are set to first take on Alabama on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. and then Gonzaga on Sunday, Feb. 3 at 2 p.m.