The Cal Poly women’s tennis team carried their dominant performance over San Francisco into Wednesday’s match against the Memphis Tigers, sweeping doubles and winning all six singles matches in straight sets.
The Mustangs (7-4) started their home stretch off with a bang when they defeated San Francisco 7-0 on Monday. They continued to provide the firepower on Wednesday afternoon when the beat the Tigers (8-8) 7-0.
Heading into the match, Cal Poly’s head coach Hugh Bream knew that Memphis would put up a fight and wanted his team to be able to match their intensity.
“We knew coming out that (Memphis) was a feisty team, a real mentally tough team,” Bream said of the game plan. “So, our goal was to be focused and make every single point tough.”
They were responsive to the request, making points for Memphis scarce. The No. 75 ranked duo of sophomore Amy Markhoff and junior Suzie Matzenauer rolled to an 8-1 victory over Memphis’ duo of freshman Sarah Irvin and junior Amanda Brown. The other two matches at the No. 1 and 3 positions were won by an 8-4 margin.
Junior Brittany Blalock, who is ranked No. 78 in the nation, led singles play as she faced off against Memphis’ top performer, junior Ashley Murdock, in the No. 1 position. Winning straight sets 6-1, 6-0, Blalock won her eighth straight match and improved to 19-5 on the season.
“Brittany is really mentally disciplined out there and she is really only showing positive body language,” Bream said of Blalock’s consistency. “When you combine that with a really high-level of play, you put a lot of pressure on your opponent to play well.”
Equally as dominant as Blalock’s performance Wednesday was Matzenauer’s 6-1, 6-0 victory against Tigers’ junior Majorie Ondeck in the No. 2 spot. She has been playing in the No. 1 and 2 positions all season and is a nationally ranked doubles player.
“Bringing in Suzie this year was key,” Bream said.
The Tigers won three home duals last weekend over Austin Peay, Murray State and Southeast Missouri State. They are a perfect 5-0 at home this season, but struggle on the road, winning only three of the 11 matches played away from their courts. Handing them their eleventh road loss of the season, the Mustangs won their last two matches handily and look to carry their momentum into Saturday’s match against Big West Conference opponent Cal State Fullerton, Bream said after the match.