Match 10
Hawai'i at Cal State Fullerton
Date: Thursday, March 3
Time: 1:30 PM
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Venue: Titan Tennis Courts
Series Record: Hawai'i leads 9-4 (dating back to 2000)
Match 11
Utah State at Cal State Fullerton
Date: Monday, March 7
Time: 1:30 PM
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Venue: Titan Tennis Courts
Series Record: Unknown
FULLERTON, Calif. – On a program record six-match win streak, the Cal State Fullerton women's tennis team returns home to play its next two matches, hosting 56th-ranked Hawai'i in Big West Conference action on Thursday, followed by a visit from Utah State on Monday.
The Titans (8-1, 2-0 BWC) are off to their best start on record dating back to 1981, and are 2-0 in Big West play for the first time since 1995.
CSF IN THE RANKINGS: Team: None | Singles: None | Doubles: None
UH IN THE RANKINGS: Team: 56 | Singles: None | Doubles: None
UTAH ST. IN THE RANKINGS: Team: None | Singles: None | Doubles: None
Cal State Fullerton enters the week at the top of the Big West Conference standings alongside Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara as each program is 2-0 in league play. Hawai'i (6-5, 2-1 BWC) is fourth in the standings.
Fullerton boasts a 36-16 (.704) record in dual singles matches, led by two-time all-Big West Conference First Team selection junior Alexis Valenzuela, who is 7-2 playing at the top of the order. In addition, freshman Sarah Nuno is 7-2 on the year, including an undefeated mark of 4-0 at No. 3 in the order to go along with a six-match win streak, while fellow freshman Karla Portalatin is 6-3 playing at No. 4 (4-3) and No. 5 (2-0) in the order.
Junior Camille De Leon (6-3) and sophomore Danielle Pham (6-3) each boast winning records as every Titan player in the order has a singles mark above .500. Freshman Masako Makiba (6-3) is on a four-match winning streak.
On the doubles side, the Titans have won the doubles point in eight out of nine matches this season, totaling a 19-4 (.824) doubles record in 2016.
Valenzuela and De Leon are undefeated (6-0) at the top of the lineup, while Nuno and Pham (6-2) are on a six-match win streak playing at No. 3 in the doubles order. Playing at the No. 2 spot the majority of the year, Makiba and Portalatin also hold a mark of 6-2.
OPPONENT NEWS & NOTES
Hawai'i enters the week with a 6-5 record and 2-1 mark in Big West Conference action posting wins over Cal Poly and UC Riverside while suffering a 4-2 loss to UC Santa Barbara. Marina Hruba is undefeated at 10-0 while Cindy Nguyen is 4-6 at the top of the lineup. The Rainbow Wahine have won the doubles point in seven of their matches this year.
Utah State is 4-6 having played no like opponents to Cal State Fullerton. The Aggies have won the doubles point on four occasions this year and are 25-33 in singles matches.
MAKIBA RECEIVES FIRST AWARD
Freshman Masako Makiba was voted the Big West Conference Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week on Feb. 24 after leading the Titans to a 2-0 record with wins over Pacific and UC Davis in the Titans' Big West Conference opener.
The native of Matsumoto City, Nagano, Japan, went undefeated in both singles (2-0) and doubles action (2-0).
It was Makiba's 7-5, 6-4 victory over UCD's Tiffany Pham that scored the fourth and match-deciding point for the Titans against the Aggies as CSF won its league opener for the first time since 1995.
Makiba also outlasted Pacific's Sabrina Rodriguez, 7-6 (4), 6-4, helping fuel a 5-2 victory. With partner Karla Portalatin, she also won both of her doubles matches.
VALENZUELA EARNS HONORS
Junior Alexis Valenzuela was voted the Big West Conference Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week on Jan. 27 after leading the Titans to a 2-1 record, which included an historic victory over San Diego State.
Valenzuela earned Athlete of the Week honors for the second time in her career following an undefeated performance as she finished 3-0 in singles action at the top of the lineup and 2-0 on the doubles court.
Her 6-4, 6-1 win over Kennedy Davis of San Diego State helped the Titans to a 5-2 team win, marking the first time in 30 meetings that Fullerton defeated the Aztecs. The West Covina, Calif., native teamed with Camille De Leon at No. 1 doubles for a 6-4 win over the Aztec duo of Isabelle Hoorn and Taylor Lederman that ultimately helped CSF secure the doubles point.
FALL 2015
Cal State Fullerton competed in four fall events as junior Alexis Valenzuela (4-2) and sophomore Danielle Pham (6-4) each posted winning records. Freshman Sarah Nuno finished her first collegiate competition at 5-5. The Titans completed singles action at 27-34, and found success on the doubles courts with a 19-15 overall record. Valenzuela teamed with fellow junior Camille De Leon as the pair managed a 5-2 mark.
2015 SEASON RECAP
The Titans finished the 2015 season with an overall record of 10-12 as well as a 2-6 mark in Big West Conference action. For the second straight year at least three Titans earned all-league honors as Alexis Valenzuela, Camille De Leon and Megan Sandford received Big West Conference Women's Tennis honors.
Valenzuela, the Titans No. 1 player for the majority of 2015, was named to the Big West All-Conference First Team for the second consecutive season after completing her sophomore campaign with a dual singles record of 8-6 at the top of the lineup.
De Leon was named Big West Honorable Mention in singles action for the first time in her career. She completed the year with a dual singles record of 12-9 as she finished 2015 with a record of 3-3 at the top of the lineup and a record of 9-6 at No. 2. In addition, De Leon completed Big West dual singles competition at 5-3. In addition, for the second straight year, the La Mirada, Calif., native received Big West Conference Second Team doubles honors as De Leon and senior Megan Sandford earned the accolade. The team of De Leon and Sandford managed an 11-10 dual record at the No. 1 spot as well as a winning record of 5-3 in league play.
UP NEXT: Fullerton will travel to Reno, Nev., to play Nevada (March 11) and Montana State (March 12).