Six Cal Poly women’s tennis players earned All-Big West selections Tuesday afternoon, making the 2009 roster the first in program history to earn four all-conference first team singles selections. Brittany Blalock also earned All-Big West first team doubles honors with senior partner Suzie Matzenauer, herself named to the all-conference first team singles squad. Completing Cal Poly’s selections were senior Steffi Wong and freshman Alexa Lee, who earned second team doubles accolades.
Cal Poly’s all-time singles victory leader with an 83-55 record, Blalock posted a 15-6 spring mark between the No. 1 (7-3) and No. 2 (8-3) singles positions. Blalock will retire as a six-time Big West Athlete of the Week honoree.
“It is a tribute to Brittany’s consistency and tremendous competitive spirit that she has been selected to the All-Big West singles first team for a fourth-straight year,” Cal Poly head coach Hugh Bream said in a release. “Both as a singles and doubles player, Brittany has been among the best in an extremely competitive conference.”
Matzenauer, who also earned first team singles and doubles praise last season after transferring from Northwestern, posted a 15-7 mark in spring duals. Currently ranked No. 104 among Division I players, Matzenauer finished 6-6 at No. 1 singles and 9-1 at No. 2.
“Suzie has been a tremendous singles and doubles player for us, both in Big West matches and versus nationally-ranked competition,” Bream said. “She comes to the court ready to compete every single time out and has truly brought a spark to our program.”
Expected to receive a doubles invitation to the May 26-31 NCAA Individual Championships, Blalock and Matzenauer finished undefeated against Big West opposition and posted a 17-3 mark in spring duals. With Blalock and Matzenauer — ranked No. 48 in the May 3 ITA poll — Cal Poly won the doubles point in a conference-best 78 percent of its 23 spring matches. In 2008, Blalock — then paired with Wong — became Cal Poly’s first individual selection to the NCAA championships.
“In singles play, both Brittany and Suzie had extremely strong years, but when combined in doubles, they were exceptional,” said Bream of the pair, who upset Stanford’s second-ranked doubles team on March 21. “We’re excited for the NCAA selection and optimistic that they will be one of 32 teams from more than 1,000 Division I doubles teams to be selected for the individual championships.”
Tuesday’s announcement marked Wong’s third all-conference doubles selection after claiming first team honors with Blalock in 2008 and 2009. Playing almost exclusively at No. 2 doubles for Cal Poly, Wong and Lee compiled a 17-5 record. The tandem were ranked as high as No. 59 in the March 2 edition of the ITA poll.
Cal Poly (16-7, 6-2), which finished in a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings, completed its regular season with a 4-2 loss against top-seeded Long Beach State during the semifinals of the Big West Championships on May 2.