The Cal Poly women’s tennis team lost their Senior Day dual match against UC Santa Barbara 4-0 Saturday at the Mustang Tennis Complex.
The Mustangs faced off against the Gauchos in doubles where they lost two out of the three matches, awarding the doubles point to UC Santa Barbara.
Senior Molly Reed and sophomore Susanne Boyden led the match 5-4 and were on the verge of defeating their opponent in a back-and-forth match. However, freshman Grace Olyphant and junior Caroline Williams, as well as the duo of freshman MacKenzie Worsnop and senior Abigail Bacharach, were not able to defeat their UC Santa Barbara opponents, ending doubles play early.
In singles, the Gauchos proved why they’re in first place in the Big West Conference by defeating the Mustangs in three straight matches.
Worsnop and sophomores Claire Bouquet and Seriana Saltzen each lost to their opponents in two sets. Meanwhile, Reed, Olyphant and Boyden were each ahead on the scoreboard in their matches, but the dual match was ended early.
“We kind of had a slow start, we made a few more errors than we’re used to and, in the end, that cost us,” head coach Katharina Winterhalter said. “But I’m proud of them for fighting back even after we had that rough start.”
After the match, Reed and Bacharach were honored by Winterhalter in their last match at Mustang Tennis Complex.
“We’ve faced a lot of adversity throughout our four years, but we’ve fought through it the whole time and we’re ending on a high note,” Bacharach said. “ This is the best team we’ve ever had and the best group of girls and coaches for sure.”
The Mustangs will conclude their season at the Big West Conference tournament starting April 26 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.