For the second time in program history, the Cal Poly Women’s Tennis team took home the Big West Championship and advanced to the NCAA postseason tournament.
Fifth-year Delanie Dunkle and graduate student Melissa LaMette have been integral parts of the Mustangs’ championship run.
However, the Mustangs could not pick up the win against USC in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. For Dunkle and LaMette, two long-time members of the women’s tennis team, their illustrious collegiate careers come to a close.
‘I grew up coming to these matches.’
Coming out of high school in 2019 Delanie Dunkle was a five-star prospect and a top 40 player in the country, the San Luis Obispo native made the decision to stay home and work to turn around a struggling Cal Poly program.
Dunkle always dreamed of leaving her mark in the Mustang record books.
“I grew up coming to these matches and idolizing the girls on the team,” Dunkle said. “To be a part of the team that has made a huge impact on the program and school is just a surreal feeling. It makes all the grind worth it.”
Delanie is tied for first place in Cal Poly history for doubles victories with Chelsy Thompson and Brittany Blalock after she has won 54 doubles matches in her career.
For the past two seasons, her doubles victories have been even more special, as Delaine paired up with her younger sister, junior Peyton Dunkle.
Peyton and Delanie were honored last year as All-Big West Second-Team for doubles, and this season they have brought their game to a higher level. The duo went 13-5 on the year playing at the No.1 line.
The Dunkle doubles pairing took many years to build chemistry, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We went from fighting on the court, not being able to finish a match together,” Peyton Dunkle said. “Now we’re playing doubles together at the highest stage bageling our opponents and winning championships.”
In the previous three seasons, the Mustangs have gone to the Big West Championship Finals and walked away as runner-ups. Delanie Dunkle and the rest of the team have experienced their fair share of heartbreak, especially during this year.
Finishing the year with a 13-8-1 record is not normally the standard for a championship-contending team. Additionally, Cal Poly lost five matches in a 3-4 fashion. Cal Poly was considered a big underdog going into postseason play as the No. 5 seed.
The No. 5 Mustangs were going into the tournament with a goal in mind and a relentless spirit.
“This year, we never really hit our stride, and when the Big West Championships started, we just turned on our focus,” Peyton Dunkle said. Our goal was to win the Big West Title for our seniors, Mel and Delanie. We could not let our seniors go without winning a championship, so as a team, we did it for them.”
To Delaine Dunkle, being a champion is more than just winning a trophy.
“The word champion means someone who overcomes struggles, challenges, and any obstacles that may stand in their way, coming out victorious in the end,” Delanie said.
Off the court, Delanie is someone that all athletes can admire and look up to; behind the scenes, her work ethic and leadership skills were essential for individual and team success.
“For her to reap the benefits of all the hard work she’s put in through her years at the program… I’m just so happy and proud of her,” head coach Ellie Edles Williams said. “She never complains and is just a true leader.”
Magic Mel
2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, the celebration and dog-pile can now begin as Melissa LaMette wins the Big West Championship for the Mustangs.
Not once, or twice, but three times did LaMette clinch the match for Cal Poly in the Big West Tournament… Magic Mel was born.
“This is the best tennis I’ve seen her play,” Coach Williams said. “This is not the first time Mel’s been big in the tournament for us, she knows how good of a competitor and athlete she can be, and I’m really proud because she is just an unbelievable player.”
The graduate student and Houston, Texas native has her name etched all over Cal Poly’s record books, she is a certified winner… now a champion and a proud Cal Poly Alumni.
LaMette ranks third all-time in Cal Poly history with 48 singles victories primarily playing at lines No. 2 & 3. She can also be found tied for fifth all-time totaling 45 doubles victories in her five years as a Mustang.
“Before every season I always write down my goals”, LaMette said. “1. Win the conference. 2. Beat Santa Barbara. 3. Finish the year ranked. We’ve done it all before, except win the Big West Conference, now we did it, it’s amazing.”
Melissa and the team did not become the champs by dominating by any means, it was a rocky season, full of many bright and dull moments.
LaMette finished the regular season with an 8-5 singles record, missing time early in the season with injuries, and the road to recovery physically and mentally didn’t come right away.
She went back into the lineup playing at No. 5 singles working to get her confidence back. Then when postseason play rolls around, Melissa goes into her ‘lock-down mode’ where her focus and ability in pressure situations rise.
“Coach Ellie talks a lot about this mode in practice, and Mel does it the best”, Delanie Dunkle said. “You’ll watch her play these big points and you think to herself she is not going to miss, this point is hers.”
Mel’s competitive nature and will to win is something that Williams has never seen before and the spirit that drives her is more than just beating her opponent, LaMette does it for her Mustang family.
Coming to Cal Poly as a true freshman, Melissa made the jump to leave home and join a new family and now they are connected for life.
“You fight for your family, do the best for your family,” LaMette said. “These girls mean the world to me and are my support system every time I step on the court.”