INDIAN WELLS, Calif. --- The Cal State Fullerton women's tennis team ended its season with a 4-1 loss to regular season champion Hawai'i in semifinal action at the Big West Conference Women's Tennis Championship on Saturday at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
With the loss, Fullerton ends its season with a 19-4 record, the best winning percentage (.826) and total number of wins in program history.
The Rainbow Wahine (16-6), the No. 1 seed at the championship, advance to play No. 2 UC Santa Barbara at 9 a.m. on Sunday. For Fullerton, Saturday's match marked the first Big West Championship semifinal the team had ever competed in.
For the third straight match – and just the third time all season – the Titans started the match by dropping the doubles point, trailing UH 1-0.
At No. 3 doubles, Marina Hruba and Michelle Pits defeated Masako Makiba and Danielle Pham, 6-2, before Cindy Nguyen and Klara Pribylova dispatched Karla Portalatin and Sarah Nuno, 6-3, at No. 2 doubles.
Hawai'i took a 2-0 lead as Nikola Dolakova scored a 6-2, 6-1 win over Makiba at No. 5 in the order, before UH went ahead 3-0 as Hruba edged Portalatin, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 3 singles.
Fullerton scored it lone point of the match when Nuno recovered from a first-set loss to defeat Roxanne Resma, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4 in the lineup.
Pits' 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Pham at the bottom of the order clinched the match-winning point for the Rainbow Wahine.
Saturday's match marked the final contest for seniors Camille De Leon and Alexis Valenzuela, who played significant roles in the record success of the program over the last four years. Valenzuela, the No. 1 singles player for the Titans for four straight years finishes her singles career at 55-15, while De Leon will depart Fullerton with a 54-29 singles mark. Over the last two years the pair totaled a 30-4 record at No. 1 doubles.
Notes: Cal State Fullerton has lost its last three doubles point of the season after winning its first 19… Fullerton holds an overall record of 18-39 dating back to 1989 at the Big West Championships.
Tennis Match Results
Cal State Fullerton vs Hawaii
Apr 29, 2017 at Indian Wells, CA
(Indian Wells Tennis Garden)
Hawaii 4, Cal State Fullerton 1
Singles competition
1. #64 Petra Melounova (UH) vs. Alexis Valenzuela (CSF) 4-6, 6-4, 3-3, unfinished
2. Cindy Nguyen (UH) vs. Camille De Leon (CSF) 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 5-1, unfinished
3. Marina Hruba (UH) def. Karla Portalatin (CSF) 6-3, 6-4
4. Sarah Nuno (CSF) def. Roxanne Resma (UH) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Nikola Dolakova (UH) def. Masako Makiba (CSF) 6-2, 6-1
6. Michelle Pits (UH) def. Danielle Pham (CSF) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #68 Petra Melounova/Roxanne Resma (UH) vs. #58 Alexis Valenzuela/Camille De Leon (CSF) 5-2, unfinished
2. Cindy Nguyen/Klara Pribylova (UH) def. Karla Portalatin/Sarah Nuno (CSF) 6-3
3. Marina Hruba/Michelle Pits (UH) def. Masako Makiba/Danielle Pham (CSF) 6-2
Match Notes:
Cal State Fullerton 19-4
Hawaii 16-6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,3,4,6)
Big West Women's Tennis Tournament Semifinals
T-2:45
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