Friday, April 21
Northridge, Calif.
1:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
5
vs
2
UC Santa Barbara
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Defeats UC Santa Barbara For First Time Since 2012
4/21/2023 8:56:00 PM | Women's Tennis
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN defeated UC Santa Barbara for the first time since 2012 as the Matadors wrapped up the 2023 women's tennis regular season with a 5-2 Big West win over the Gauchos Friday afternoon at the Matador Tennis Complex.
The CSUN victory broke a 12-dual losing streak to UCSB that dated back to Jan. 29, 2012, when the Matadors defeated the Gauchos 5-2 at the ITA Kickoff in Coral Gables, Fla. Friday's win was the first for CSUN at home against UC Santa Barbara Apr. 5, 2007, a 5-2 decision.
Vitoria Solis Urdiales and Cindy Ung's 6-1 victory at No. 3 against Valentina Krebtova and Solaya Han opened the doubles competition. Then, UCSB's Amelia Honer and Kira Reuter, ranked 12th in the current ITA poll, defeated Jolene Coetzee and Angela Ho 6-1 at No. 1 to tie it up. Finally, Sasha Turchak and Yuliia Zhytelna earned the doubles point for the Matadors when the CSUN duo defeated Marta Gonzalez and Camille Kiss 6-3 at No. 2.
Tallia Harper shut out Han 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 to open singles action. Honer, ranked 60th in the current ITA Top 75, handed Coetzee a 6-4, 6-2 defeat in No. 1 play. Ho earned a straight sets victory at No. 5 (6-4, 6-2) versus Gonzalez, which set the stage for Emma Moratalla Sanz to clinch the dual for the Matadors when she posted a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Khrebtova in the No. 4 slot.
Zhytelna led 7-5 and was tied 3-3 against Reuter at No. 3 before Reuter retired. Kiss's 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4) win at No. 2 concluded the day.
The Matadors' 16th dual victory of the season (16-5) is the most since 2011, when CSUN went 16-6. CSUN ends 2023 with a 6-3 league record, the most victories for the Matadors in Big West play since 2008, when CSUN went 6-2 in conference play.
Harper's singles victory was her 10th of the year (10-3), making her the fifth CSUN singles starter to win at least 10 matches this season; Zhytelna (15-4), Moratalla Sanz (13-6), Ho (12-5), and Turchak (12-6). Turchak and Zhytelna are a team-best 13-7 in doubles, followed by Ho, who is 13-4 with two partners. Coetzee is 11-4 in doubles playing with Ho.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH GARY VICTOR
"We got off to a great start in doubles. Sasha, Yullia, Cindy, and Vito came to play. They played well, and the win in doubles was so crucial. Tallia has been a rock for us, and I give her so much credit for how she has developed this season. Our freshmen this season have been up and down; they have had a couple of tough matches with Long Beach and Fullerton, which was the difference for this match victory today.
PLAYER REACTION
"Our last couple of matches prepared us today," said Coetzee. "It lowered our expectations because we were doing so well, and things started to dip, and I think those expectations helped us get back to normal and on our feet. We all played well, and I am so proud of this group."
UP NEXT
The Matadors will await their final seed in next week's Big West Championships, as five conference matches will be played over the weekend. CSUN will begin tournament action on Thursday at 9 a.m. or 12 p.m. at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego.
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The CSUN victory broke a 12-dual losing streak to UCSB that dated back to Jan. 29, 2012, when the Matadors defeated the Gauchos 5-2 at the ITA Kickoff in Coral Gables, Fla. Friday's win was the first for CSUN at home against UC Santa Barbara Apr. 5, 2007, a 5-2 decision.
Vitoria Solis Urdiales and Cindy Ung's 6-1 victory at No. 3 against Valentina Krebtova and Solaya Han opened the doubles competition. Then, UCSB's Amelia Honer and Kira Reuter, ranked 12th in the current ITA poll, defeated Jolene Coetzee and Angela Ho 6-1 at No. 1 to tie it up. Finally, Sasha Turchak and Yuliia Zhytelna earned the doubles point for the Matadors when the CSUN duo defeated Marta Gonzalez and Camille Kiss 6-3 at No. 2.
Tallia Harper shut out Han 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 to open singles action. Honer, ranked 60th in the current ITA Top 75, handed Coetzee a 6-4, 6-2 defeat in No. 1 play. Ho earned a straight sets victory at No. 5 (6-4, 6-2) versus Gonzalez, which set the stage for Emma Moratalla Sanz to clinch the dual for the Matadors when she posted a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Khrebtova in the No. 4 slot.
Zhytelna led 7-5 and was tied 3-3 against Reuter at No. 3 before Reuter retired. Kiss's 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4) win at No. 2 concluded the day.
The Matadors' 16th dual victory of the season (16-5) is the most since 2011, when CSUN went 16-6. CSUN ends 2023 with a 6-3 league record, the most victories for the Matadors in Big West play since 2008, when CSUN went 6-2 in conference play.
Harper's singles victory was her 10th of the year (10-3), making her the fifth CSUN singles starter to win at least 10 matches this season; Zhytelna (15-4), Moratalla Sanz (13-6), Ho (12-5), and Turchak (12-6). Turchak and Zhytelna are a team-best 13-7 in doubles, followed by Ho, who is 13-4 with two partners. Coetzee is 11-4 in doubles playing with Ho.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH GARY VICTOR
"We got off to a great start in doubles. Sasha, Yullia, Cindy, and Vito came to play. They played well, and the win in doubles was so crucial. Tallia has been a rock for us, and I give her so much credit for how she has developed this season. Our freshmen this season have been up and down; they have had a couple of tough matches with Long Beach and Fullerton, which was the difference for this match victory today.
PLAYER REACTION
"Our last couple of matches prepared us today," said Coetzee. "It lowered our expectations because we were doing so well, and things started to dip, and I think those expectations helped us get back to normal and on our feet. We all played well, and I am so proud of this group."
UP NEXT
The Matadors will await their final seed in next week's Big West Championships, as five conference matches will be played over the weekend. CSUN will begin tournament action on Thursday at 9 a.m. or 12 p.m. at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego.
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~#UniteTheValley~
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Amelia Honer / 0 (60/-) [UCSB]
66
42
#2 Singles Match
123
Camille Kiss / 0 [UCSB]
627
466
#3 Singles Match
123
Kira Reuter / 0 [UCSB]
530
73WR
#4 Singles Match
12
Valentina Khrebtova / 0 [UCSB]
23
66
#5 Singles Match
12
Marta Gonzalez / 0 [UCSB]
42
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Solaya Han / 0 [UCSB]
00
66
Order of Finish:
6,1,5,4,3,2
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
A Conversation With Gary Victor
Friday, May 29
Meet the Matadors - 2017 Women's Tennis
Thursday, January 26