FULLERTON, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton women's tennis team begins its season on Saturday, hosting Nevada at 11 a.m. at Titan Tennis Courts. Before their first official match of the spring, the Titans will have one tune-up, welcoming Cal State L.A. at 11 a.m., Friday at Titan Tennis Courts in a scrimmage.
Admission to all Titan tennis matches is free.
Cal State L.A. (Scrimmage): Friday, Jan. 16 | 11 a.m. | Titan Tennis Courts (Fullerton, Calif.)
Nevada: Saturday, Jan. 17 | 11 a.m. | Titan Tennis Courts (Fullerton, Calif.)
CSULA THE RANKINGS: Team: No. 21 (Div. II) | Singles: None | Doubles: None
NEV IN THE RANKINGS: Team: None | Singles: None | Doubles: None
CSF IN THE RANKINGS: Team: None | Singles: None | Doubles: None
The Titans return to the court for the 2015 season with eight returners on the roster. In 2014, the returning group of Devyn Billinglsey, Emilia Borkowski, Camille De Leon, Rebekkah Ermac, Jessica Pepa, Megan Sandford, Kalika Slevcove and Alexis Valenzuela combined for a singles dual record of 49-59.
While second-year head coach Dianne Matias has not announced a starting lineup yet, Valenzuela (15-4, 5-2 Big West) and De Leon (13-10, 4-4) are expected to return in their sophomore campaigns.
Valenzuela was named to the Big West Conference Singles First Team last season, becoming the first Titan named to the first team dating back to 1989. As a freshman, the West Covina, Calif., native led Fullerton with an overall record of 23-6 as well as a mark of 15-4 in singles dual play. Her 15 singles wins and 14-match winning streak from Feb. 5-April 11 set program highs dating back to 2001.
In singles play, Valenzuela finished Big West competition with a record 5-2, and during the year, she started at the No. 2 spot (3-2) in the lineup before moving to the top (12-2) of the order.
De Leon was one of three players in Fullerton's lineup to record a winning record (13-10), and the La Mirada, Calif., native was also named to the Big West Conference Doubles Second Team with partner Morgan McIntosh.
In singles play, De Leon completed the year with a 21-14 overall record competing mostly at the No. 3 spot (13-8), while suffering two losses at No. 2 in the lineup during dual action.
In doubles play, De Leon and McIntosh partnered during the spring season and the duo finished the year with a record of 10-11 at the top of the lineup and managed a 3-4 mark in Big West play.
Fall 2014
In the fall, freshmen Michelle Erasmus (2-7) and Danielle Pham (3-6) saw their first action, while Slevcove (2-1), Borkowski (1-6), Ermac (2-2), Pepa (1-8) and Sandford (0-4) also competed. Fall highlights included Valenzuela advancing to the round of 16 at the Jack Kramer Invitational as well as moving on to the round of 32 at the ITA Southwest Regionals.
In addition, the doubles team of Borkowski and Slevcove defeated Portland's Maja Mladenovic and Amanda Zuidema, 8-4, to take first place in the doubles black bracket at the Matador Collegiate Invitational. In the same tournament, Slevcove reached the championship match in singles play, but suffered a three-set loss to Pacific's Amanda Zuidema.
2014 Season Recap
With a record of 8-15, one-point losses tortured Fullerton's 2014 season as the Titans lost six matches by the score of 4-3, including three in Big West Conference play.
In singles dual action, Fullerton sported a record of 62-69 (.473), although the top three spots held a winning record of 41-25 (.621), while the bottom three positions in the lineup struggled at 21-44 (.323).
In doubles play, the Titans totaled a mark of 31-35 (.470). Fullerton compiled six losses in 2014 – to Loyola Marymount, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, Georgetown, Wyoming, and UC Davis– due to the loss of the doubles point which proved to be the difference.
Season Openers
Dating back to 1981, Cal State Fullerton boasts a record of 7-24 in season openers (records are missing for 1983, 1997 and 2000). The Titans are 4-10 at home in season openers and 3-14 on the road. The Titans have not opened the season at home since suffering a 6-1 loss to Cal Poly on Jan. 17, 2004. Fullerton last won a season opener on Jan. 19, 1999, defeating UC Riverside, 9-0 in Fullerton.
Opponent News & Notes
Nevada finished the 2014 season with a 12-10 record overall, while notching a 2-3 mark in the Mountain West. Fullerton is 0-2 against Nevada in the last two seasons, suffering back-to-back 5-2 losses (Mar. 2, 2013 & Feb. 1, 2014).
During the fall of 2014, Cal State Fullerton finished 1-2 against Cal State L.A. in singles play and 0-2 against the Golden Eagles in doubles action. Cal State L.A. completed last season with a record of 7-10.
