Lauren RabainoThe Cal Poly softball team lost twice Sunday in Las Vegas at the UNLV-hosted Louisville Slugger Desert Classic, in which it fell in all five of its games.
In the first, the Mustangs (2-8) lost 7-5 in eight innings to Wisconsin. Junior shortstop Melissa Pura was 2 for 2 for Cal Poly, while senior Sarah Iwata went 2 for 5 with two runs and an RBI.
Later, Cal Poly lost an early lead to No. 9 Oklahoma, which won 3-2. Pura was 1 for 3 with one run and two RBI, and junior centerfielder Jenna Maiden batted 2 for 3.
On Saturday, the Mustangs fell behind by six runs en route to losing to No. 22 Missouri 8-3 despite holding an 8-4 hit advantage including home runs from Pura and Iwata.
Prior to that, they lost Friday to South Carolina 8-3 and to Illinois 3-0.
Cal Poly hosts the Mustang Classic this weekend, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Friday against Cal.
Shot putter, pole vaulter just miss NCAA provisional standards
Two members of the Cal Poly women’s indoor track team came up just short of NCAA provisional qualifying standards Saturday in Seattle at the Husky Invitational.
Junior shot putter Julieann Dufresne was 1 centimeter shy, winning at 49 feet, 10 inches.
In the pole vault, 12th-place junior Christine Silva was 8 centimeters short, at 3.87 meters.
Freshman long jumper Jasmine Pickett came in sixth by bounding 18 feet, 9 _ inches. In the triple jump, senior Jessica Eggleston came in seventh, at 39 feet, 11 « inches.
Cal Poly returns to action at the USATF Indoors in Boston from Friday through Saturday.
Mendes finishes regular season unbeaten but wrestling team falters in Oklahoma
The Cal Poly wrestling team was thumped 36-6 by No. 3 Oklahoma State on Saturday, a day after falling 32-9 to No. 17 Oklahoma, but the losses didn’t come without a historical milestone.
On Saturday, senior Chad Mendes, the nation’s top-ranked grappler at 141 pounds, finished his season an unblemished 22-0 by rallying for a takedown with 10 seconds left in a 4-3 decision over No. 2 Nathan Morgan.
Mendes, the eighth Mustang to run the table in dual matches in a single season, topped No. 3 Manuel Rivera of Minnesota earlier this season.
Cal Poly’s other win came on behalf of sophomore Chase Pami (21-4), ranked No. 13 at 157. He claimed a 7-5 decision over Neil Erisman.
Against the Sooners, Mendes defeated Zack Bailey 9-2, and Pami pinned No. 16 Chad Terry in 4:43.
The Mustangs (5-8, 4-4 Pac-10 Conference) will next hit the mat at the Pac-10 Championships in Eugene, Ore. on March 2 and 3.
Women’s basketball team comes up short in overtime
The Cal Poly women’s basketball team lost its sixth game in eight tries Saturday, falling 74-72 in overtime at UC Santa Barbara.
Despite a 14-1 Cal Poly run to turn a 49-39 deficit with 12 minutes remaining into a 53-50 advantage with 6:38 left, the Mustangs were outscored 9-7 in the extra period.
Freshman center Kristina Santiago was 9 of 16 from the floor to pace four Mustangs (9-15, 6-5 Big West Conference) in double figures, with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Junior forward Megan Harrison added 13 points in defeat, while sophomore forward Rebecca Tratter and junior forward Lisa McBride chipped in 10 apiece. All three forwards pulled down eight rebounds each.
Senior guard Jessica Wilson led UCSB (17-6, 11-0) with 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting, while junior center Kat Suderman was 8 of 17 from the floor en route to 19 points and eight rebounds. The 6-foot-4 Suderman accounted for four of UCSB’s blocks, while Cal Poly didn’t block any shots.
Junior guards Lauren Pederson and Sha’Rae Gibbons contributed 15 and 11 points, respectively, for the first-place Gauchos, who held a 34-30 lead at halftime and were able to survive shooting 17 of 31 from the free-throw line overall.
Gibbons narrowly missed a triple-double, finishing with 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Fourth-place Cal Poly hosts third-place UC Davis at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Shorthanded men’s basketball team commits 24 turnovers in loss
Senior guard Alex Harris scored 19 of his 21 points in the final 25 minutes to help UC Santa Barbara rally for a 60-47 victory over Cal Poly Thursday night.
The Gauchos (19-6, 8-4 Big West Conference) trailed 19-17 after junior guard Trae Clark’s 3-pointer. He led the Mustangs (9-14, 4-7) with 14 points and five assists.
But Harris scored nine points in the last five minutes of the half to put UCSB ahead 31-25.
Junior forward Chris Devine scored six straight points midway through the second half to boost the third-place Gauchos’ lead to 53-43. He finished with 16 points.
UCSB held Cal Poly to 34.8 percent shooting and forced 24 turnovers while making a season-high 16 steals.
Cal Poly played without senior guard Dawin Whiten and junior guard Chaz Thomas, who’ve combined for 31 starts this season.
Whiten, Cal Poly head coach Kevin Bromley said Wednesday, has scheduled season-ending surgery for plantar fasciitis in his right foot, while Thomas is indefinitely out with a sprained ankle.
The sixth-place Mustangs play at last-place (ninth) UC Davis at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.