Cal Poly Women’s Tennis’ 2024-25 Spring Dual Season is here and to open the year Cal Poly traveled to Tucson, Arizona for a two-match affair against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks and the University of Arizona Wildcats.
The Mustangs clinched a close 4-3 win on Sunday over NAU but fell on Monday against the Wildcats, splitting the opening matches and coming home with a 1-1 record to begin the year.
Close win to open the season
In their season debut, the Mustangs opened with a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Lumberjacks.
Cal Poly brought home the doubles point with help from freshman Jessica MacCallum and sophomore Natalie Lynch, who secured the first win of the 2024-25 season at doubles line No. 3, 6-2.
For both Lynch and MacCallum, this was their first career Dual appearance.
Junior Sarah MacCallum and redshirt sophomore Amy Leather secured the doubles point for Cal Poly with a 6-3 win at line No. 2.
Leather was also making her first Cal Poly appearance in her career, the Tulsa transfer having to medically redshirt last season after a knee injury sidelined her for the year.
NAU evened the score at 1-1, but Cal Poly then sprinted ahead and grabbed the next three matches.
Junior Kennedy Buntrock won the Mustang’s first singles match of the year at line No. 1 in convincing fashion (7-6, 6-1).
Buntrock rolled through her opponent in her first time playing at the top of the lineup.
Sarah MacCallum extended Cal Poly’s lead, lining up at the sixth spot and fighting to take the first set in a (7-6, 7-2 tiebreaker). She cruised in her second set, nailing home the victory with a 6-3 score line.
With Cal Poly only needing one more victory to clinch the contest, junior Sasha Ozerets was nearing victory.
Ozerets is known for long stressful matches, and battled to win the first set in a tight tiebreaker, (7-6, 7-4).
The next set wouldn’t be less of a fight, Ozerets and her opponent went back and forth, forcing yet another seven-point tiebreaker. Ozerets eventually pulled away (7-6, 7-1) to clinch the first Cal Poly victory of the year.
Lynch and Jessica MacCallum were still on the court after the Mustangs clinched, they took their opponents the distance in a three-set affair but ultimately fell in the third.
Tough Monday matchup
After getting their first win of the new year, Cal Poly (1-1) drew a tough matchup versus the University of Arizona (4-0), who ended their season last year ranked No. 39 in the nation.
The Mustangs fell 4-0 to the Wildcats in a battle that was much closer than the score says.
In doubles action, Cal Poly lost both matches but remained competitive.
Buntrock and Senior Romane Mosse battled at line No. 1 against the No. 52 ranked doubles pairing in the nation. The match went unfinished at 5-5 after Arizona clinched the overall doubles point.
The Mustangs forced four three-set singles matches against the Wildcats, keeping the match close after going down 1-0.
At line No. 1, Buntrock faced off against Arizona’s Midori Castillo-Meza, the No. 74 ranked singles player in the nation.
Down 6-2 in the first set, Buntrock came back to force a second set tiebreaker (7-6, 7-4). She was leading 2-1 in the third set before play stopped when the Wildcats clinched the victory.
Ozerets at line No. 3 also found herself in a marathon third-set match. She split sets with her opponent, taking the first 6-4 and falling 2-6 in the second set, this match was called early as well with Ozerets down 3-4 in the third.
At line No. 5, Lynch also battled in a three-set bout.
After taking the first set in the tiebreaker (7-6, 7-2), she lost some momentum and dropped the second set 6-4. Lynch was leading the third set 3-2 before it was called.
MacCallum took her line No. 6 opponent to three sets as well in a heated affair.
She had a slow start to the match, dropping the first set 2-6. In the second set, however, MacCallum’s game clicked, and she came back with a vengeance, taking set number two 7-5.
The third set didn’t go her way, however, as she dropped her service game and her opponent didn’t look back. MacCallum finished the third set 3-6.
The Mustangs will make their home debut at the Ronca Tennis Center on Friday, Jan. 24, hosting the Montana State Bobcats and then take on the Santa Clara Broncos on Sunday, Jan. 26.
