Match 18
Cal State Fullerton at Seattle
Date: Wednesday, March 30
Time: 11:00 AM
Location: Seattle, Wash.
Venue: SU Tennis Courts
Series Record: First meeting since 2000
Match 19
UC Irvine at Cal State Fullerton
Date: Saturday, April 2
Time: 11:00 AM
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Venue: Titan Tennis Courts
Series Record: UCI leads 20-0 (since 1998)
FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton women's tennis team ends the month of March with a match in Seattle on Wednesday, before returning home for a vital Big West Conference contest against UC Irvine at 11 a.m., Saturday.
CSF IN THE RANKINGS: Team: None| Singles: None | Doubles: None
SU IN THE RANKINGS: Team: None| Singles: None | Doubles: None
UCI IN THE RANKINGS: Team: None | Singles: None | Doubles: None
NEWS & NOTES
The Titans (14-3, 4-0 BWC) are currently tied at the top of the Big West Conference standings with Long Beach State, while Fullerton's 14 overall wins are the most for the program since the 1988 season (15-11).
In addition, CSF's four league wins are the most for the team since 2013.
With Fullerton's 5-2 victory over CSUN last Saturday, the Titans defeated the Matadors for just the second time since the 2000 season.
NUMBERS
Fullerton boasts a 70-30 (.700) record in dual singles matches, led by two-time all-Big West Conference First Team selection junior Alexis Valenzuela, who is 12-3 playing at the top of the order.
A pair of freshmen, Sarah Nuno (12-5) and Karla Portalatin (13-4), enter the week on five-match win streaks in singles play.
Junior co-captain Camille De Leon is currently 12-5 on the year, while sophomore Danielle Pham boasts a record of 11-4. Freshman Masako Makiba holds an 8-8 mark.
On the doubles side, the Titans have won the doubles point in 13-of-16 matches this season, totaling a 31-9 (.775) doubles record in 2016.
Valenzuela and De Leon play at the top of the lineup with a record of 11-1, currently leading Fullerton with a four-match win streak.
The pairing of Nuno and Pham at No. 3 in the order has resulted in a 10-4 record, which also included a 10-match win streak during the season. Portlarin and Makiba are 8-4 at No. 2 doubles.
OPPONENT NEWS & NOTES
Seattle enters the week at 8-9 with an 0-2 record in the Western Athletic Conference. Michelle Lui is the Redhawks No. 1 player and holds an impressive 11-6 mark. Seattle enters Wednesday having lost two straight.
Dating back to 1998, UC Irvine (3-12, 1-2 BWC) has won the last 20 meetings against the Titans, with CSF's last win against the Anteaters on record in 1996. (Results are missing from the 1997 season). UCI has produced a record of 2-5 in March with wins over Middle Tennessee State and UC Davis as well as losses to Hawai'i, Portland, Georgetown, Dartmouth and Fresno State.
DE LEON NAMED ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Junior co-captain Camille De Leon was voted the Big West Conference Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week after leading the Titans to its seventh-straight victory as Fullerton upset Hawai'i, 4-2, on March 3.
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 host Cal Poly (April 9) and UC Santa Barbara (April 10) as the team's final four matches are against Big West Conference opponents.