DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis kicks off Big West postseason play against the Cal Poly Mustangs on Thursday at 9 a.m. 

The seventh seeded Mustangs upset the second seed Aggies in 2018, the last time the two programs faced off in the Big West tournament. UC Davis will be out for revenge this year with the seedings reversed.

The Aggies earned the seventh seed with a 3-6 conference record (8-13 overall) and wins over ninth seed UC Riverside, eighth seed UC Irvine, and top seed University of Hawai'i. The Aggies were the only team in the conference to manage a win over the 67th ranked Rainbow Warriors.

The Mustangs earned the second seed with a 6-3 conference record (12-8 overall) and wins over ninth seed UC Riverside, eighth seed UC Irvine, fourth seed Long Beach State, third seed UC Santa Barbara, playoff ineligible UC San Diego and UC Davis. 

Cal Poly visited Davis on April 8, and left with a 4-3 victory. UC Davis took the doubles point to open the match, but Cal Poly won four singles contests to take the match.

UC Davis is led by senior Yana Gurevich, who has held down court 1 all season, posting a 10-8 record, including six wins in her last eight completed matches. Sophomore Arianna Stavropoulos finished the regular season with a 14-6 record and seven wins in her last 10 matches. Though just slightly above .500 for the season, Michelle Zell has been an X-factor for the Aggies. Zell is 4-5 in her last nine completed matches, but won her match against Cal Poly's Delanie Dunkle when the teams saw each other last

Cal Poly is led by graduate student Kim Bhunu, who is 10-8 on the season in defense of court 1. Bhunu is supported by Alexandra Ozerets, a freshman with a 13-4 season record and seven wins in her last 10 matches, as well as sophomore Peyton Dunkle, who is 10-6 this season with seven wins in her last nine completed matches.

Doubles competition has been a strong point for both teams this season. Cal Poly is 31-22 in doubles matches this season, good for a .585 winning percentage, while the Aggies have won the doubles point in 9 of their last 11 dual matches and have a doubles season winning percentage of .561.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Quarterfinal Round
No. 2 Cal Poly Mustangs
vs.
No. 7 UC Davis Aggies
 
Thursday, April 27 – 9:00 a.m.
San Diego, Calif. / Barnes Tennis Center

Other Quarterfinal Matchups
No. 3 UCSB vs. No. 6 CSUN – 9:00 a.m.
No. 1 Hawai'i vs. No. 8 UC Irvine – 12:00 p.m.
No. 4 Long Beach State vs. No. 5 Cal State Fullerton – 12:00 p.m.

Semifinal Round
UC Davis/Cal Poly winner
vs.
UC Santa Barbara/Cal State Northridge winner

Friday, April 28 – 9 a.m.
San Diego, Calif. / Barnes Tennis Center
 
Other Semifinal Matchup
Hawai'i/UC Irvine winner vs. Long Beach State/Cal State Fullerton winner – 12:00 p.m.

Championship Match
Semifinal winner
vs.
Semifinal winner

Saturday, April 29 – 12:00 p.m.
San Diego, Calif. / Barnes Tennis Center