Match 14
Colorado State at No. 67 Cal State Fullerton
Date: Tuesday, March 15
Time: 1:30 PM
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Venue: Titan Tennis Courts
Series Record: CSU leads 6-4 (dating back to 2000)
Match 15
Wyoming vs. No. 67 Cal State Fullerton
Date: Wednesday, March 16
Time: 1:30 PM
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Venue: Titan Tennis Courts
Series Record: WYO leads 6-0 (dating back to 2000)
FULLERTON, Calif. – The 67th-ranked Cal State Fullerton women's tennis team returns home on Tuesday to begin a four-match home stand in the friendly confines of Titan Tennis Courts. The Titans host Colorado State at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, followed by Wyoming at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday.
CSF IN THE RANKINGS: Team: 67 | Singles: None | Doubles: None
CSU IN THE RANKINGS: Team: None| Singles: None | Doubles: None
WYO IN THE RANKINGS: Team: None | Singles: None | Doubles: None
NEWS & NOTES
Less than 24 hours removed from its 10th victory of the season on Monday, March 8, the Cal State Fullerton women's tennis team received exciting news when the newest 2015-16 Oracle/ITA Division I Women's Collegiate Tennis Ranking was released on Tuesday with the Titans receiving a No. 67 rating.
In addition, Fullerton's 11-2 start to the season is the best for the program on record as well as the team's eight-match win streak which was ended with a 4-2 loss at Nevada on Friday. With a 3-0 Big West Conference record, the Titans are at the top of the standings tied with Long Beach State.
NUMBERS
Fullerton boasts a 52-24 (.684) record in dual singles matches, led by two-time all-Big West Conference First Team selection junior Alexis Valenzuela, who is 9-3 playing at the top of the order. Sophomore Danielle Pham, playing at No. 6 in the order, currently leads the Titans on a five-match win streak, and also holds a mark of 9-3.
In addition, freshman Karla Portalatin is 9-4 on the year, while junior co-captain Camille De Leon enters the week with a singles record of 9-4. Freshmen Sarah Nuno (8-5) and Masako Makiba (7-5) each hold winning records as well.
On the doubles side, the Titans have won the doubles point in 10-of-13 matches this season, totaling a 24-6 (.800) doubles record in 2016.
Valenzuela and De Leon play at the top of the lineup and lead the Titans with a record of 8-1, while the pairing of Nuno and Pham at No. 3 in the order has resulted in a 9-2 mark. Makiba and Portalatin are 5-3 on the year mostly playing at No. 2 in the lineup.
OPPONENT NEWS & NOTES
Colorado State (3-6) enters the week on a three-match losing streak. On Feb. 27, the Rams suffered a 7-0 loss to CSUN in Las Vegas. Jon Messick is in his 27th season as head coach at Colorado State, and for the 2016 spring season returns the bulk of last year's production, including six letterwinners. In total, CSU returns a lineup which won 59 singles matches last year (28 during the spring season), with four individuals winning at least 10.
Wyoming has won six straight matches against the Titans dating back to 2000. The Cowgirls (7-7) are led by Magdalena Stencel's 8-4 record at the top of the lineup, while Stencel partners with Nastya Tokareva for a 7-6 mark at No. 1 doubles.
DE LEON REIGNING ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Junior co-captain Camille De Leon was voted the Big West Conference Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week on Wednesday after leading the Titans to its seventh-straight victory as Fullerton upset Hawai'i, 4-2, last week
De Leon scored victories in singles and doubles action to help the Titans upset No. 56 Hawai'i, 4-2, to improve to 3-0 in Big West play.
De Leon helped CSF win the doubles point, partnering with Alexis Valenzuela at the No. 1 position to defeat Sarah Gealer and Klara Pribylova, 6-4. De Leon then put the Titans up 3-1 in the match with her 6-3, 6-1 triumph over Sarah Gealer.
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 play its next four matches at home: Colorado State (Tuesday), Wyoming (Wednesday), Nebraska (March 22), CSUN (March 26).