LOS ANGELES – Cal State LA's women's tennis team used sensational performances in three doubles contests and made sure Senior Day was a winning day for the Golden Eagles.
 
Shortly after honoring Nozomi Matsuoka, Kayleigh Hall and Iris Raileanu in a special pre-match ceremony, the Golden Eagles swept the three doubles contests and went on to a big 6-3 win over the Cougars Wednesday at the Cal State LA Tennis Complex. Cal State LA (12-5) was ranked No. 23 in the nation entering the match and evened the season series with No. 21 Azusa Pacific (11-7).
 
Cal State LA won for the sixth time in its last seven matches and continued a late-season surge that has seen the Golden Eagles beat four teams ranked ahead of them in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, including No. 5 Hawaii Pacific.
 
The match was all but decided after the doubles sweep and was in complete contrast to the first meeting between the two programs. In that match, it was Azusa Pacific that swept the doubles and went on to a 6-3 win over Cal State LA.
 
Elizaveta Sokolova and Luciana Di Laura got things going for the Golden Eagles with an 8-4 win at No. 3 doubles and Raileanu and Isabella Lopez followed with an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles. The biggest point of the match came at No. 1 doubles, where Matsuoka and Hall rallied for a 9-7 win over Azusa Pacific's Natalie Johnson and Lisa Schneider.
 
Lopez then made it 4-0 with a straight-sets win at No. 6 singles, 6-3, 6-2, and Sokolova got the clinching point at No. 3 singles with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Valeriia Kashina.
 
Di Laura recorded the final point for the Golden Eagles with a third-set tiebreaker victory over Azusa Pacific's Jackie Resler, 4-6, 6-2, 10-5.
 
Cal State LA will conclude its regular-season with a road contest at UC San Diego on Saturday, April 15. The Golden Eagles will participate in the PacWest Conference Championships beginning on April 19 at Surprise, Ariz.

#23 Cal State LA 6, #21 Azusa Pacific 3
Apr 05, 2017 at Los Angeles, Calif.
 

Singles competition

1. Natalie Johnson (APU) def. Nozomi Matsuoka (LA) 6-2, 6-0

2. Lisa Schneider (APU) def. Kayleigh Hall (LA) 6-2, 6-1

3. Elizaveta Sokolova (LA) def. Valeriia Kashina (APU) 6-4, 6-2

4. Kara Hinton (APU) def. Iris Raileanu (LA) 6-3, 6-4

5. Luciana Di Laura (LA) def. Jackie Resler (APU) 4-6, 6-2, 10-5

6. Isabella Lopez (LA) def. Tatiana Betancourt (APU) 6-3, 6-2

 

Doubles competition

1. Nozomi Matsuoka/Kayleigh Hall (LA) def. Natalie Johnson/Lisa Schneider (APU) 9-7

2. Iris Raileanu/Isabella Lopez (LA) def. Valeriia Kashina/Jackie Resler (APU) 8-6

3. Elizaveta Sokolova/Luciana Di Laura (LA) def. Tatiana Betancourt/Kara Hinton (APU) 8-4

Match Notes

Azusa Pacific 11-7; National ranking #21

Cal State LA 12-5; National ranking #23

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,6,2,3,4,5)