FULLERTON, Calif. – After a successful 2018 fall campaign and a historic 2017 season, the Titans are aiming to put together their best season yet, as Fullerton is set to open the 2018 spring season against UC San Diego on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. PT.
The Titans enter the new year with a ton to be excited about, as Fullerton won school-record 19 matches in 2017 while posting an overall mark of 19-4 for a school-record winning percentage of .826. The Titans also put together the longest winning streak in school history, at one point claiming victory in 11 consecutive matches to start the year.
The Titans' incredible season ended with their first trip to the Big West Championship semifinals for the first time in school history, falling to eventual Big West Champions Hawai'i.
Despite losing one of the best doubles teams in program history in Camille De Leon and Alexis Valenzuela, Fullerton welcomes in a stellar group of newcomers made up of five freshmen in Genevieve Zeidan, Taylor Valenzuela, Tiani Jadulang, Caisey Lee Emery, Jadie Acidera and junior transfer Luxizi Meng. The group was ranked the ninth-best incoming class among mid-majors according to TennisRecruiting.net.
The duo of De Leon and Valenzuela racked up a school-record 16 wins from the No. 1 doubles position and finished the season ranked as the 80th best-doubles tandem in the nation.
However, just because Valenzuela's collegiate playing career is over doesn't mean she's not still an integral part of the Titan Tennis program, as she returns for the 2018 season as first-year volunteer assistant coach.
Fullerton boasts a very balanced attack heading into the new year, welcoming back five returners to go along with six newcomers.
Fullerton's fall campaign dawned a new era for the Titans, as the freshman Zeidan showed she's ready to step into the spotlight as the next Titan great. She opened the Beach Fall Tournament with a bang, going 4-0 in singles play, and claimed the Flight C Championship.
The Taipei, Taiwan native also opened strong in day one of Southwest ITA Regionals, defeating two opponents back-to-back.
Zeidan enters the spring ranked No. 103 in ITA Singles Poll.
In doubles play, the tandem of Sarah Nuno and Karla Portalatin had a tremendous fall run as they finished the season 9-1, ending with a six-match win streak.
Thursday's match will be against UC San Diego. Fullerton has won its last three season openers.
Admission to all Titan tennis matches at Titan Tennis Courts is free.
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Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitans.com/Tickets. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at the eastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday.
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