Monday, 02/08/2010

PEBBLE BEACH – Following a 22-day hiatus that saw five events either rescheduled, postponed or cancelled due to inclement weather, the Cal Poly women’s tennis team resumed its 2010 spring campaign on Sunday afternoon with a 6-1 neutral-site victory against San Francisco.

The Mustangs (2-0), who dropped just three sets against the Dons, opened the victory by sweeping the doubles point. At No. 1, seniors Suzie Matzenauer and Brittany Blalock teamed to defeat Jennifer-Lee Heinser and Cecilia Gratian, 8-2, before senior Steffi Wong and freshman Alexa Lee combined to post an 8-3 decision against Julia Wartenburger and Yurie Hashiguchi. Mustang juniors Amy Markhoff and Ashley Pane completed the whitewash with an 8-2 victory against Melinda Akerbrant and Blair Reed.

“We were really aggressive in doubles and I thought the team came out focused,” Mustang head coach Hugh Bream said. “I thought the key to victory was our dominant play at the net.”

Matzenauer, ranked 98th among NCAA Division I players in the last ITA poll, opened Cal Poly’s singles effort with a 6-2, 0-6, 7-6 victory against Heinser, who qualified for the 2008 NCAA Tournament. At No. 2, Blalock dealt Wartenburger a 6-2, 6-4 defeat while Wong prevailed against Gratian at No. 3, 7-5, 6-2. Filip posted a 6-4, 7-5 victory at No. 4 versus Akerbrant while at No. 5, Lee downed Hashiguchi, 6-3, 7-6.

Mustang sophomore Jocelyn Davis suffered Cal Poly’s lone defeat at No. 6 singles against Jessy Mekpoh, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6.

“We played a few close matches, but it was important for us to get out and compete and the players were really excited about that,” Bream added.

Cal Poly opened its 2010 spring schedule on Jan. 16 with a 7-0 victory against Cal State Bakersfield, but had to reschedule mid-January matches at Pepperdine and UCLA due to precipitation. Cal Poly’s three-day stint at the Jan. 22-24 California Winter Invitational in Berkeley was also washed out.

A Feb. 6 home fixture versus Santa Clara is also expected to be rescheduled.

Cal Poly returns to the court to open Big West Conference play at UC Irvine on Saturday, Feb. 13. Match time is set for 11 a.m.