Match 20
Cal Poly at Cal State Fullerton
Date: Saturday, April 9
Time: 11:00 AM
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Venue: Titan Tennis Courts
Series Record: Cal Poly leads 15-1 (since 2001)
Match 21
UC Santa Barbara at Cal State Fullerton
Date: Sunday, April 10
Time: 11:00 AM
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Venue: Titan Tennis Courts
Series Record: UCSB leads 16-0 (since 2000)
FULLERTON, Calif. – Only three matches remain in the regular season as the Cal State Fullerton women's tennis team continues to find success during its historic 2016 season. Currently second in the Big West Conference standings, the Titans (16-3, 5-0 BWC) will host Cal Poly on Saturday and UC Santa Barbara on Sunday in their final home matches of the year. Both contests will begin at 11 a.m., at Titan Tennis Courts. Admission is free of charge.
CSF IN THE RANKINGS: Team: None| Singles: None | Doubles: None
CP IN THE RANKINGS: Team: None| Singles: None | Doubles: None
UCSB IN THE RANKINGS: Team: None | Singles: None | Doubles: No. 15 Palina Dubavets/Stefani Stojic
NEWS & NOTES
- With a 6-1 victory over UC Irvine on Saturday, Cal State Fullerton recorded its 16th victory of the season, setting the program record for wins in a single season.
- The Titans' win against the Anteaters also snapped a 20-match losing streak to UC Irvine which dated back to 1998.
- Fullerton's 6-1 victory against Wyoming on March 16, ended a six-match losing streak against the Cowgirls which dated back to 2000.
- The Titans boasted an eight-match win streak from Feb. 3 – March 7, the longest for the program on record dating back to 1981.
- On Jan. 24, Cal State Fullerton produced a 5-2 win at San Diego State, defeating the Aztecs for the first time in a series that totals 30 meetings.
- Just one more conference win would also set a program record for the Titans.
- Alexis Valenzuela's 14 wins at the No. 1 position are the most for the program since 2001 (date of first individual stats on record).
- Karla Portalatin's 15 victories in the spring are the most for a freshman since Valenzuela totaled 15 in 2014.
- The No. 1 doubles team of Camille De Leon and Alexis Valenzuela has totaled 12 doubles wins, the most for a Titan No. 1 doubles team since Adriana Hockicko and Eleanor Luzano finished the 2001 season with a record of 13-9 at the top of the order.
NUMBERS
Fullerton boasts a 80-32 (.714) record in dual singles matches, led by two-time all-Big West Conference First Team selection junior Alexis Valenzuela, who is 14-3 playing at the top of the order while also on a five-match win streak.
Freshman Karla Portalatin leads the Titans on a seven-match win streak and boasts a record of 15-4.
On a three-match win streak, sophomore Danielle Pham is 13-4 on the year.
Junior co-captain Camille De Leon is currently 14-5 on the year and 8-2 in her last 10 matches, while freshman Sarah Nuno is 12-7. Fellow rookie Masako Makiba has won her last two matches and is 10-8 in 2016.
On the doubles side, the Titans have won the doubles point in 15-of-18 matches this season, totaling a 35-9 (.795) doubles record in 2016.
Valenzuela and De Leon play at the top of the lineup with a record of 12-1, currently leading Fullerton with a five-match win streak.
The pairing of Nuno and Pham at No. 3 in the order has resulted in a 12-4 record, which also included a 10-match win streak during the season. Portalatin and Makiba are 9-4 at No. 2 doubles.
OPPONENT NEWS & NOTES
Cal Poly enters the week with a 3-11 overall record and 1-4 mark in Big West Conference matches. The Mustangs were on a seven-match losing skid before producing a 6-1 victory over UC Riverside on Sunday. Last season, Fullerton snapped a 15-match losing streak to the Mustangs.
UC Santa Barbara enters the week with an overall record of 11-7 and a 4-1 mark in the Big West Conference. The Gauchos fell to then 67th-ranked Long Beach State, 4-3, on Saturday. The doubles team of Palina Dubavets and Stefani Stojic is ranked 15th in the nation for UCSB. Dating back to 2000, the Titans have dropped 16 straight to the Gauchos.
UP NEXT: Cal State Fullerton will conclude the regular season on Friday, April 15, at Long Beach State. The Big West Championship begins Thursday, April 28, at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
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.