FULLERTON, Calif. – The regular season will come to an end on Friday when Fullerton faces off against Long Beach State at 2 p.m.
Fullerton heads to Long Beach with a record of 17-5 (5-2). The Titans are the No. 3 seed in the Big West, and are tied alongside Hawai'i and Long Beach State.
OPPONENTS AND HISTORY
April 20 | 2 p.m. PT | Rhodes Tennis Center | Long Beach, Calif.
The Titans clash with the 49ers with the two teams fitting for second place in the Big West. The winner will get the bye and compete On Friday April 27. On Apr. 15, Fullerton lost to UC Santa Barbara 4-3, and Long Beach beat No.1 UC Davis 4-1.
Long Beach's win over Davis was their third consecutive win and catapulted them into the top three of the Big West.
Last year when Fullerton and Long Beach met, the Titans were handed an unfortunate 4-3 loss. The Titans have lost 23 consecutive matches to Long Beach State dating back to 2000.
LAST WEEK
The Titans finished their final homestand of the season against Cal Poly, and UC Santa Barbara.
Fullerton found a 4-1 win over Cal Poly on Apr. 14. The win increased their record at home to 10-0.
On Apr. 15, the Titans hosted UC Santa Barbara on what was also Senior Day for Fullerton. Isabel Donaldson and Danielle Pham were the two seniors honored. Unfortunately, Fullerton was unable to receive the outcome they had hoped for as they lost 3-4 to Santa Barbara.
The loss snapped Fullerton's undefeated streak at home and moved the Titans to the third seed.
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
The Big West Championship Tournament commences on Apr. 26 at Indian Wells Tennis Center in Indian Wells, Calif. The tournament will last four days and conclude on Apr. 29.
All nine teams advance and fight in hopes to take home the title of Big West Tournament Champion. The bracket is shown below.
| Thursday, April 26 - First Round | Time (PST) |
| No. 8 Seed vs. No. 9 Seed | 9:00 A.M. |
| Friday, April 27 - Quarterfinals | |
| No. 1 Seed vs. No. 8/9 Winner | 9:00 A.M. |
| No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed | 9:00 A.M. |
| No. 3 Seed vs. No. 6 Seed | 11:00 A.M. |
| No. 2 Seed vs. No. 7 Seed | 11:00 A.M. |
| Saturday, April 28 - Semifinals | |
| No. 1/8/9 Winner vs. No. 4/5 Winner | 9:30 A.M. |
| No. 2/7 Seed vs. No. 3/6 Seed | 9:30 A.M. |
| Sunday, April 29 - Championship | |
| Championship Match | 9:30 A.M. |
IN THE RANKINGS
In the rankings released on Apr. 10, Zeidan reappeared at No. 114.
Freshman Genevieve Zeidan continues to lead the charge for the Titans. Zeidan currently holds an overall singles record of 28-5 including a 14-match winning streak at the No.1 and 2 positions. Zeidan spent four months in the rankings going from No.103 to No. 97.
BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Genevieve Zeidan received the accolade for the week of 3/14. Zeidan's trio of wins elevated her to the top spot of the Fullerton leaderboards.
Zeidan on being honored, "It feels great to be honored but it is even better that the program is being recognized for their efforts this season."
HOME SWEET HOME
This season has proved that at home, the Titans are unstoppable. At the Titan Tennis Courts, Cal State Fullerton went 10-1 for the season. UC Santa Barbara snapped the team's 10 match win streak at home after going four months undefeated.
SETTING A STREAK
The Titans set an impressive win streak when they defeated San Francisco 4-0 on Feb. 24. Fullerton went on an eight-match win streak before having it snapped by San Diego State. The Aztecs defeated the Titans 5-2 on March 23.
CONFERENCE COMPETITION
Cal State Fullerton went back to back days of conference play on Apr. 14, and Apr. 15. The Titans found success in their first match against Cal Poly where they defeated the Mustangs 4-1. Unfortunately, Fullerton dropped the match against UC Santa Barbara 4-3.
Fullerton battled to bounce back in conference play as they swept UC Irvine 7-0 on Apr. 7. The Titans still sit at the No.2 seen in the Big West standings.
The Titans undefeated conference play streak was snapped when Big West No.1 seed UC Davis defeated the Titans 4-3 on March 28. With the loss, the Titans moved to No. 2 seed.
After the comeback win over Hawai'i (3/17) Fullerton advanced to 14-2 (3-0) for the season.
Fullerton opened conference play with a dominant 6-1 win over UC Riverside on Feb. 3. The Titans capitalized and swept the doubles matches to earn the point to put the Titans in the lead and then proceeded to take five of the six singles matches. The Titans continued their conference hot streak with a 4-0 win over CSUN on Feb. 16.
SISTER ACT
The Titans' season opener (1/18) marked the beginning of a new era for the Valenzuela sisters. Alexis Valenzuela returned to the courts as the new volunteer coach, while sister, Taylor, embarked on her first match as a Titan.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Cal State Fullerton welcomed five incoming freshmen for the 2017-18 campaign, Caisey Lee Emery, Jadie Acidera, Tiani Jadulang, Taylor Valenzuela and Genevieve Zeidan. The group was ranked the ninth-best incoming class among mid-majors according to TennisRecruiting.net.
FULLERTON'S DYNAMIC DUO
Sarah Nuno and Karla Portalatin are starting to come on strong for the Titans. The tandem is currently 23-6 overall in doubles play and 14-5 on court one in dual match action.
ABOUT DIANNE MATIAS
Matias enters her fifth year with the Titan Tennis program. She owns an overall coaching record of 78-57 and 71-42 mark while with Fullerton. She was named the Big West Conference Coach of the Year in 2016.
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Keep up with the Titans and follow along with live stats, @CSUFTennis.
SUPPORT THE TITANS!
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.
FOLLOW THE TITANS
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (@FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), and Instagram (@FullertonTitans) and Snapchat (FullertonTitans). In addition, the women's tennis team has established its own official Twitter page (@CSUFTennis), Facebook Page (@CSFWomensTennis), Instagram (@CSUFTennis) and Snapchat (CSUFTennis).