The end of March saw big opportunities for CSUN sports programs to gain momentum heading into the latter half of their seasons. Some were able to take advantage, while others failed to do so. Notable feats include men’s golf winning its second individual title of the season and women’s tennis earning its 500th duals victory in program history.

Men’s volleyball

On Saturday, March 25, the men’s volleyball team lost its fourth consecutive game. In the four games they lost, the team took a total of two sets and got swept in three of the matches.

The losing streak started against Big West Conference opponent UC San Diego. It was the Matadors’ first game after a 12-day break. The Matadors’ loss also ended their eight-game winning streak. CSUN failed to win a set, losing 3-0.

Looking to start another winning streak, Northridge hosted Daemen University. The Wildcats took the first two sets, but the Matadors would not let themselves get swept. They fought back and took the next two, tying up the match, 2-2. The final set went in favor of Daemen, who secured the win and gave CSUN its second consecutive loss.

The following weekend featured back-to-back games against conference opponent Hawaii. CSUN wound up dropping both matches. The pair of games was tough for the Matadors as they did not win a single set in either of them.

These four games have been the toughest part of the season for the Matadors. With six games left, the men’s team, ranked 18th in the nation, has plenty of time to bounce back.

Next match: Friday, April 7 vs. Long Beach State at 7 p.m.

Women’s water polo

Playing Big West opponents has been difficult for the women’s water polo team. After losing to Long Beach State on Saturday, March 18, the team is now 0-4 in conference play and 16-10 overall.

The Long Beach State matchup marked the Matadors’ third consecutive loss. Looking to turn things around and snap the losing streak, the Matadors shifted their focus to the Whittier Invitational.

First up was Whittier College. The Matadors scored the first seven goals of the game. Whittier had to wait until the end of the second quarter to score a pair of its own. Sophomore defender Anna Pal snuck in one more goal to give the Matadors an 8-2 lead at halftime. Whittier tried its best to catch up with four more goals in the match, but CSUN answered with five of their own. CSUN defeated the Poets 13-6. Nine different Matadors scored in the game.

The second match of the tournament came against Brown. It was a defensive showing from both teams. The first goal came for Brown, 31 seconds in, when senior Claire Pisani scored after an exclusion foul by the Matadors. Brown jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first three quarters. CSUN failed to make a comeback, scoring only two goals and losing 5-2.

Next match: Friday, April 7 at UC Irvine at noon.

Baseball

It took the Matadors 11 innings to defeat UC Davis on March 17. The Matadors almost lost the game after leading for seven innings, but the Aggies tied it up with a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh. The game stayed tied until the 11th, when the Matadors scored four runs. The Aggies tried their best to secure a walk-off victory, but CSUN won 6-3. Junior Joshua Romero got the save for the Matadors, which was his third of the season. The second game was another tight battle for the Matadors. After going up 3-0 in the second inning, CSUN lost its lead in the bottom of the fourth and never took it back, losing 6-5. Looking to win the series, CSUN came out of the gates in the last game scoring four runs in the top of the first. The offensive surge continued and they won 9-3.

On Monday, March 20 CSUN hosted Pepperdine for their fourth meeting of the season. CSUN led the series with a 2-1 record against the Waves. The Matadors found themselves down 4-2 in the seventh inning. Then came a two-run home run from junior Jakob Simons and an RBI single from redshirt sophomore Kevin Fitzer. CSUN’s relievers came up with shutouts in the next two innings, leading the Matadors to a 5-4 victory.

The Matadors hit the road again to play UC Santa Barbara in a three-game series. In game one, the Matadors were held to only one run and allowed four as they couldn’t keep their momentum from the previous game going. The offense produced a better showing in the second game as they scored seven runs. The Matadors also had good pitching from four different players to take the game 7-4. The rubber game of the series was dominated by the bats of Santa Barbara as they scored 13 runs in the first four innings. The gap was too much for the Matadors, who only mustered five runs and wound up losing 14-5.

San Diego and Northridge combined for 22 runs in a slugfest on Tuesday. CSUN took a 12-8 lead into the final inning. San Diego rallied with a two-run home run, but CSUN was able to stop the scoring after that and won 12-10.

Next game: Monday, April 3 vs. California Baptist at 3 p.m.

Men’s golf

The UCSD Invitational saw one of the best performances by the Matadors this season.
CSUN finished third out of 15 teams. On the first day, the Matadors shot a 36-hole total of 17-under-par 559. On the second day, they kept their third-place position, scoring 280, which gave them a total score of 839. Senior Eirik Thomassen received individual medalist honors for his great performance, scoring 20-under-par 196 to finish first in the tournament.

Next match: Seattle U Redhawk Invitational from April 3-4 at Chambers Bay golf course.

Softball

Game one against Cal Poly was dominated by freshman Isabella Alonso. The starting pitcher gave up one hit and shut out the Mustangs in a complete game. The offense followed suit, scoring five runs to give CSUN a 5-0 win. The second game saw CSUN get shut out this time around. Cal Poly scored the only run of the game in the first inning. Both teams had four hits, but Cal Poly got the win, 1-0. The third and final game of the series was another pitching duel from both teams. CSUN had three pitchers in the game, only surrendering one earned run in the final inning. A two-run home run from redshirt sophomore Maiya Alemania allowed CSUN to defeat Cal Poly, 2-1.

Next up was a series against Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors came into Northridge firing on all cylinders as they scored 10 runs in the first inning. The Matadors never matched and fell 12-3. In game two, Hawaii came out swinging again and scored two runs in the first inning. The Matadors were able to answer this time with five runs in the bottom of the first. They did not stop there and scored three more in the bottom of the fourth. CSUN was able to hold onto the lead despite giving up three more runs and won 8-5. Alumni Day was a great showing for the Matadors as they continued the efficient offensive play, scoring nine runs in the bottom of the first. Hawaii failed to catch up, scoring only one run to CSUN’s 11. CSUN won 11-1 and took the series victory.

Next game: Monday, April 3 vs. LMU at 1 p.m.

Women’s golf

The women’s golf team played in the Fresno State Classic this past week and it was not their best showing.

On day one, the team shot a 48-over-par 624, which was the highest of the day and landed the team 15th out of 15. The Matadors continued to struggle in the final round on Tuesday as they stayed at the bottom of the standings. The team finished last in the event.

Next match: The Big West Championship on April 16-18 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Women’s tennis

The winning streak continued for the women’s tennis team. They defeated Fordham on March 18, 4-1, and dominated the next two matches as they did not lose a single set. They defeated St. Thomas and Chaminade in those two games.

The winning streak of nine games came to an end against Hawaii on March 23. The match was held in Hawaii, and it was relatively close, as the Matadors fell 5-2.

CSUN came back to California to host Sacramento State and won 4-3. The Matadors lost two of their three doubles matches, but secured four singles victories to come back and win. This marked the 500th duals victory in the women’s tennis program’s history.

Next match: Saturday, April 8 vs. Cal State Fullerton at 11 a.m.

Women’s beach volleyball

Before heading into spring break, the women’s beach volleyball team played a pair of games against Texas and Utah. The team seemed well rested after having four days off and they won both games. They took down Utah 5-0 and Texas 4-1.

Their next doubleheader was at home on Wednesday, March 22 against Colorado Mesa and Cal State LA. The first match against Colorado Mesa was a close one. After CSUN took the first two games, CMU fought to stay alive in the other three. The final game went in the way of Colorado Mesa when Savannah Ott and Hailey Peters eked out a 16-14 win over Seyvion Waggoner and Abigail Alvarez, giving CMU the win, 3-2. The match against Cal State LA was postponed due to the weather.

CSUN’s next matches came at the Bigger West Invitational hosted by Cal Poly. The Matadors struggled at the tournament, losing four consecutive games. Those losses came against No. 8 Hawaii, No. 12 Long Beach State, CSU Bakersfield and UC Davis. The team finally won a match against Sacramento State, 5-0, but CSUN’s success ended there as they lost 4-1 to Cal Poly to end the invitational 1-5.

Next match: Saturday, April 8 at Pepperdine at 9 a.m., followed by Life Pacific at 1 p.m., in Malibu.

Track and field

CSUN track and field started strong at the Bulldog Classic, recording seven victories at the event. Redshirt junior David Phillips, Jr. won the 100-meter and 200-meter events, while sophomore Zavion Harper won the 110-meter hurdles with a personal best of 14.65 seconds. Freshman Logan Davis also won for the men, recording a time of 47.59 seconds in the 400-meter, and freshman Joey Nations won the high jump. For the women, redshirt junior Arianna Alexander won the 100-meter in 11.91 seconds, and junior Charne Lee-Olkers won the 100-meter hurdles in 14.01 seconds, her personal best.

The track and field team then competed in the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival at UCLA over spring break. Three individuals generated top 10 finishes for the team. Freshman Nicole Contreras finished ninth with a time of 17 minutes, 29.99 seconds in the 5000-meter. Junior Sonia Avila ran a time of 39:00.22 in the 1000-meter to finish eighth. Redshirt Junior Joseph Alipranti finished fifth in the hammer throw.

The following day, the track and field team returned to UCLA to compete in the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational.

The men’s team had a strong showing as 13 different individuals finished in the top 10 of their events. The 400-meter relay team recorded the third fastest time in school history, finishing in 39.97 seconds to claim second place in the event. The 1600-meter team also finished second, as did redshirt freshman Dillon Peters in the triple jump. Freshman James Crawford claimed third in the 100-meter with a time of 10.60 seconds. On the women’s side of things, Alexander finished second in the 100-meter dash, while freshman Alba Moreno Paredes finished second in the high jump. Another top three finisher was Olkers, who finished third in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 14 seconds. Freshman hurdler Genesis Washington finished seventh in the 400-meter, while Jada Reese claimed eighth in the 100-meter.

Next event: The Bryan Clay Invitational Multi’s on April 13-14 in Azusa, California.