CSUN Tennis Looks to Round Out Big West Season on Top Against UC San Diego

NORTHRIDGE, Calif -- CSUN Women's Tennis is looking to win its fifth out of its last six Big West games as the Matadors travel to UC San Diego on Saturday to complete the regular season at Northview Tennis Courts in La Jolla. First serve is set for noon. CSUN is looking to finish above .500 in Big West play for its third consecutive year.

FOR STARTERS
CSUN is currently 10-8 on the season with a 4-4 record in Big West play. The Matadors have turned their season around after dropping the first two games in conference play to Hawai'i and Long Beach State. In the Big West standings, CSUN's 4-4 record is good enough for fifth in the conference. The Matadors are tied fifth with their opponent on Saturday as UC San Diego sports a 4-4 record in Big West play as well. CSUN has a chance to tie either Hawaii or Long Beach State for the fourth spot if the Matadors pull off a win in La Jolla.

UC San Diego is 10-10 overall entering Saturday's match, and the Tritons are significantly better at home as they have a 6-2 record at home compared to their 3-7 mark on the road. Championship seeding is at stake for both teams. The match between the Tritons and the Matadors is senior day for the home team, as this is the last conference match before the Big West Championship.

MOVING UP THE RECORD BOOKS
Counting her results this season, Yuliia Zhytelna is 10th all time in doubles wins with 41. The senior from the Ukraine is also sixth all-time in career doubles win percentage (.683). She has been stellar with partner Madison Shepperson. The duo of Zhytelna and Shepperson are a perfect 9-0 on the year. Zhytelna also has played in doubles with Angela Ho, sporting a 5-1 record on the year and 2-0 Big West record as a pair.

Ho, the junior from San Francisco, is moving up the charts herself in terms of all-time players for the Matadors. She is fifth in career singles win percentage (.714) and fifth in career doubles percentage (.723).In terms of singles play, she currently leads the team with 12 singles wins as her record stands at 12-5. When Ho has played at the No. 3 courts this year, she is 8-2. Ho won her match against UC San Diego last season, defeating Katelyn Vu, 6-2, 6-3.

MORATALLA SANZ LOOKING FOR SIX IN A ROW
Emma Moratalla Sanz is currently on a hot streak. The junior from Valencia, Spain has currently won five singles matches in a row on her way to an 8-7 record. In her three seasons as a Matador, she has amassed 32 wins. When Moratalla Sanz wins, CSUN wins. In all four victories for the Matadors this season, she was in the winner's circle for all of them.

CONTINUED EXCELLENCE FOR COACH GARY VICTOR
Coach Gary Victor is one of the longest tenured coaches in CSUN history for any sport. After taking over in 1998, Victor has a .577 winning percentage. He eclipsed his 100th career conference victory this season when CSUN defeated UC Irvine on March 22. He has a current record of 352-259 in his career. Victor has only finished out of the top five in seven of his 27 seasons. He is a four-time coach of the year and has led eight different teams to national rankings.

ABOUT UC SAN DIEGO
This is the first season that UC San Diego is competing for a Big West championship. The Tritons have matched their best season since they became a Division-I program with 10 wins. UC San Diego's Julia Haynes is ranked No. 101 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in the latest Division I Women's National Singles Rankings. Haynes is the first Triton to earn a national ranking since 2020.

Senior Naomi Nguyen has found success in doubles with several partners. Nguyen is UC San Diego's all-time wins leader in doubles since the program moved to Division I.

The Tritons have Big West victories over UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Irvine and Long Beach State.

SERIES HISTORY: CSUN currently leads the series history against the Tritons 11-1 including riding an eight-game winning streak. The last loss for the Matadors against UC San Diego came all the way back in 1988.

CSUN Tennis Looks to Round Out Big West Season on Top Against UC San Diego

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Players Mentioned

Angela Ho

Emma Moratalla Sanz

Madison Shepperson

Yuliia Zhytelna