LA JOLLA, Calif. — The Cal Poly women’s tennis team remained unbeaten in conference play on Saturday, taking down Big West foe UC San Diego 5-2 at the Northview Tennis Courts.
The victory allowed the Mustangs (7-4, 3-0 Big West) to finish a six-match road swing with a 5-1 showing.
Cal Poly opened the dual by securing the doubles point. First, redshirt junior Amy Leather and Tia Bonita Jakupovic-Kljako teamed up for a 6-3 victory at the No. 3 spot. Then, the dangerous pairing of senior Kennedy Buntrock and sophomore Jessica MacCallum won 7-5 at No. 1 to improve to 5-3 as a duo this spring and lock up the doubles point. Juniors Candela Aparisi and Natalie Lynch, who are 7-2 as a pairing this season, were leading 6-5 at No. 2 when the doubles point was clinched.
In singles, the Tritons (5-9, 1-4 BW) put up more of a resistance, forcing a third set on three of the six courts.
Cal Poly jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to straight-set wins at No. 5 and No. 6. Senior Sarah MacCallum cruised to a dominant 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 6, while Lynch fended off her opponent at No. 5, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7), to improve to 7-3 on the season.
UCSD earned its first point of the match with a win in straight sets at No. 3, making it 3-1. With the Mustangs needing just one more victory to lock up the dual, senior Alexandra Ozerets stepped up at No. 4 and provided it. She outlasted her opponent, winning 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 to move to 8-3 on the season. The victory also allowed Ozerets to tie Peyton Dunkle for the Cal Poly Division I lead in career dual singles victories with 52.
Jessica MacCallum gave Cal Poly a 5-1 lead with a three-set win at No. 2, and Buntrock lost the final two sets in her match at No. 1 to allow the Tritons to pick up their second and final point of the dual.
Cal Poly returns home for the first time in over a month to host Princeton at 5 p.m. on Thursday.