Matador Tennis Posts Historic Run in ITA Southwest Regionals

SAN DIEGO, Calif --- CSUN women's tennis had a historic weekend as the Matadors completed the ITA Southwest Regional Tournament in San Diego from Oct. 16-21. CSUN was led by Angela Ho and Nicole West as the duo earned five wins in doubles play on the way to the first ever ITA Southwest Regional Finals appearance by a CSUN team in its history.

The Southwest Regionals is a very tough playing field, including the likes of UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State, San Diego State, Loyola Marymount, Hawai'i, Fullerton, Grand Canyon, Pepperdine, UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly.

Emma Mortalla Sanz picked up some impressive wins in the qualifying bracket in the singles portion of the tournament. West recorded a win in the first round of qualifying as well.

ONE OF A KIND DOUBLES RUN FROM ANGELA AND NICOLE
Ho and West began their journey with a familiar foe. The CSUN duo defeated Daria Malaescu and Daisy Carpenter of Long Beach State in convincing fashion, 8-1.

The next match pushed CSUN to the Round of 16. Josie Usereau and Martyna Ostrzygalo of the University of Arizona were their opponents, and had to forfeit due to injury.

Ho and West then faced their toughest matchup yet. A battle against Gloria Alogo Piqueras and Liisa Varul of San Diego State. The Aztecs, part of a gritty Mountain West Confernce, finished last season with a 17-7 record and 9-1 in conference play. Ho and West came out on top versus Piqueras and Varul, 8-4, a win that sent CSUN to the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals, CSUN matched up against a Big 12 opponent, Arizona State. The Sun Devils went 15-10 in 2025, facing many ranked teams last season.

Ho and West conquered Emilija Tverijonaite and Vivian Ovrootsky by a score of 8-6, as CSUN reached the final four.

The last hump to reach before the finals pitted CSUN against Hawai'i. The Rainbow Wahine took both matches against the Matadors in the spring. This time, however, CSUN came out on top. Ho and West defeated Sophie Rachor and Grete Gull, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6). A win that meant CSUN could play for the championship, the first finals appearance for the ITA Southwest Regionals in CSUN history.

CSUN's last opponent was USC, which went 17-8 in the spring and 9-4 in a hotly contested Big 10 conference. It was a barn-burner in the championship to put it lightly. Ho and West went to the brink against Daniela Borruel and Lily Fairclough, with two sets going to a tiebreaker. Ultimately, CSUN fell against the Trojans, 6-7 (10-12) 6-4, 11-9.

MORATALLA SANZ AND WEST PICKING UP SINGLES VICTORIES
Emma Moratalla Sanz faced off against Kei Kato from Big West foe UC Riverside in the qualifying round. The senior from Valencia, Spain won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.She then defeated Karin Altori of Arizona State, 1-6, 6-3 (11-9). Moratalla was then ousted in the tournament by Daniela Borruel of USC, 6-1, 6-0.

West picked up a win in qualifying as well. She won against Katarina Curcic of UC Riverside, 6-1, 6-4. The senior from Tarzana would then fall to Hams Metwali of Grand Canyon 6-0, 2-6 (10-8).

POST TOURNAMENT COMMENTS
FROM NICOLE WEST

"This week has been such a highlight for me. As painful of a loss as it was in the final, I can't help but be filled with so much gratitude for my partner, the coaches, and the whole team for the constant support and good energy. Taking a lot from the week and excited for the next matches."

FROM ANGELA HO

"This week at regionals has been an amazing opportunity for me and Nicole. We played some of the best tennis of my life, and I couldn't be happier. We fought for every point in every match, and it really paid off. There was a different level of trust and belief that I had never felt before. It's a bittersweet ending to an incredible doubles run, but I couldn't be more proud of our performance."

UP NEXT
CSUN Women's Tennis completes the fall schedule by hosting the CSUN Fall Tournament from Nov. 7-9 at Matador Tennis Complex.

RESULTS
Women's Qualifying Singles Round of 64

Nicole West (CSUN) def. Katarina Curcic (UC Riverside), 6-1, 6-4
Emma Moratalla Sanz (CSUN) def. Kei Kato (UC Riverside) 6-4, 6-4

Women's Qualifying Singles Round of 32 - Singles
Emma Moratalla Sanz (CSUN) def. Karin Altori (Arizona State) 1-6, 6-3 (11-9)
Hams Metwali (GCU) def. Nicole West (CSUN) 6-0, 2-6 (10-8)

Main Round of 64 - Singles
Daniela Borruel (USC) def. Emma Moratalla Sanz (CSUN), 6-1, 6-0
Jo-Yee Change (SDSU) def. Angela Ho (CSUN) 6-4, 7-5

Extra Saturday Singles
Emma Moratalla Sanz (CSUN) def. Gabby Gregg (USD), 6-1, 3-6, (10-8)

Extra Sunday Singles
Amalia Suciu (Grand Canyon) def. Emma Moratalla Sanz (CSUN), 7-6 (8), 6-1

Women's Open Doubles Round of 64
Nicole West and Angela Ho (CSUN) def. Daria Malaescu and Daisy Carpenter (LBSU), 8-1

Women's Open Doubles Round of 32

Ho and West (CSUN) def. Josie Usereau and Martyna Ostrzygalo (Arizona), (WD-Inj)

Women's Open Doubles Round of 16
Ho and West (CSUN) def. Gloria Alogo Piqueras and Liisa Varul (SDSU), 8-4

Women's Open Doubles Quarterfinals
Ho and West (CSUN) def. Tverijonaite and Ovrootsky (Arizona State), 8-6

Women's Open Doubles Semi-Finals
Ho and West (CSUN) def. Sophie Rachor and Grete Gull (Hawai'i), 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)

Women's Open Doubles Finals
Daniela Borruel and Lily Fairclough (USC) def. Ho and West (CSUN) 6-7 (10-12) 6-4, 11-9

Matador Tennis Posts Historic Run in ITA Southwest Regionals

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Players Mentioned

Angela Ho

Emma Moratalla Sanz

Nicole West