Natalie Duffy is “very talented, with a great serve, forehand, net game and backhand slice,” says Fullerton tennis head coach Trang Huynh-McClain.
By Bill Sheehan
Natalie Duffy has had many unforgettable experiences during her four years on the Cal State Fullerton women's tennis team. But one moment truly stands out.
As a freshman, Duffy found herself in a steep hole in a Big West Conference game at Cal Poly. Playing No. 4 singles, she had lost the first set and trailed 1-3 in the second when then-Titans head coach Dianne Matias intervened.
"I kept missing shots, and Dianne shouted to me, 'I don't care what you do. Just get the ball in and stay out there!' "
Heeding her coach's advice, Duffy rallied to win the set in a 7-6 (7-3) tiebreaker. By then, Fullerton and Cal Poly were tied 3-3, so Duffy's match would decide the entire contest. She jumped to a 5-1 lead in the third set before Cal Poly's Grace Olyphant rallied to force a 6-6 tie. Duffy then won another tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-4), for game, set, match and a Titans' victory.
"Cal Poly was undefeated, and we snapped its 10-game winning streak," said Duffy, who hails from Hemet. "Our whole team ran onto the court. It was a moment I'll never forget."
Duffy, the team's lone senior, will have an opportunity to create more memories this week when the Titans compete at the Big West Championship at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. Fullerton, which is 15-8 overall and 5-4 in conference, is seeded sixth and will face No. 3 Hawaii on Thursday at 2 p.m. in a quarterfinal matchup.
The 21-year-old ended the regular season on a high note. A singles win by Duffy on Friday clinched a victory over Pomona Pitzer. On Sunday, she was honored on Senior Day before winning in singles (6-0, 6-2) and doubles (6-2, with teammate Mariia Nikitash) to help the Titans defeat UC Irvine. The latter win lifted the Titans above .500 for the conference season.
Joined by her parents Yupayong and Charles, team captain Natalie Duffy is honored on Senior Day on Sunday at Titan Tennis Courts.
"The match Sunday went much better than I expected. I was very nervous warming up because it was my last home match, and I didn't want to play badly. I played great and almost "bageled" my singles opponent in both sets." (In tennis, a bagel is when a set ends with a 6-0 score.)
Duffy, who is the Titans' captain, is trying to prepare her younger teammates for the finals in San Diego. "Masha [Nikitash], Kaytlin [Taylor] and I are the upperclassmen. We have told the freshmen to treat the tournament like a new season and not dwell on the seedings. Lower seeds have reached the finals before.
"This might be our best team in my time here," said Duffy, a 5-foot-10 righthander. "Everyone is driven and motivated. We are ready to push through with a positive attitude. Even if you aren't playing well, you must grind and do whatever is needed to win."
Nikitash, a junior from Kyiv, Ukraine, agreed. "Any school can win the title. "We have played every team, so we know their strengths and how to play against them."
Trang Huynh-McClain, the Titans' second-year head coach, said her players are excited to compete against Hawaii. In late February, the Titans lost at Hawaii, 3-4, in a conference matchup.
"We have a talented, young team that is very hungry" she said. "We are looking forward to play Hawaii again."
Huynh-McClain said Duffy has provided great leadership as the captain. "Natalie has shown her younger teammates the ropes and what to expect on and off the court. It hasn't been easy, as half of our team are freshmen. Natalie is a caring person and has brought the team together."
Duffy, an aggressive baseline player, has competed as Fullerton's No. 3 or No. 4 in singles this season. She is 14-6 in singles and 12-7 in doubles; the 14 wins are tied for a team high. She uses a Wilson Blade 98 racket and prefers serving to the deuce side. "I love the wide serve on that side," she said.
She is a huge fan of Serena Williams. "Like Serena, I try to get on the offensive right away. I'm not defensive. Some of my earlier coaches would tell me to stop hitting hard and use more lobs. Thankfully, my parents believed in me and said to play the game my way," she said.
Natalie Duffy, who hails from Hemet, is a huge fan of Serena Williams. "Like Serena, I try to get on the offensive right away," says Duffy,
Duffy has many strengths, Huynh-McClain said. "Natalie is very talented, with a great serve, forehand, net game and backhand slice. She has all the tools and is a great doubles player too."
Nikitash and Duffy frequently have teamed up in doubles this season. "When we play together, I prefer the baseline, and Natalie favors the net game. I really like setting her up, and she finishes at the net," said Nikitash, who traveled to Ukraine this winter to visit her family as the war with Russia raged on.
"Natalie has done a great job as captain and always has our backs. She is an awesome person and is a very supportive teammate," Nikitash said.
The transfer portal and name, image and likeness, or NIL, weren't part of the landscape when Duffy arrived at Fullerton, but she said they are here to stay.
"A lot of people will be on the move since they know they can transfer. Players who I thought would never transfer have transferred. It's natural to wonder, "Are they getting better offers?' "
"NIL wasn't for me. It would be another thing that I would have to focus on, besides tennis and school. I would have had to do a lot of posting on Instagram. I like to keep myself a little more private, so I doubt it would be worth it unless it was for a lot of money."
Duffy participated in a raft of sports as a child, including indoor soccer, swimming, ballet and tap dancing. At about age 5, she took up gymnastics, karate and tennis.
She was introduced to tennis by her father, Charles, who is a physical education teacher at Mountain High Middle School in San Jacinto. Her mother, Yupayong, is a homemaker.
"I had been coaching tennis at a local high school, and I would bring Natalie along to play on local courts," said her father. "She became very competitive and often couldn't find anyone to play at the same age and skill level.
She joined the Murrieta Tennis Club and started to play in junior tennis events. "Natalie is an all-court player and very good in doubles. She is an aggressive player and likes to win as most people do. There is no indifference – she will always try her hardest," said Charles.
"After I earned a junior black belt at age 12, I gave up martial arts and focused on tennis. My parents had spent so much money on my pursuits – they could have gone on vacations – that I wanted to get a college scholarship as a way to pay them back."
At Murrieta Valley High School, she was named first-team All-League all four years and was the team and Riverside County MVP as a junior and a senior. She led Murrieta Valley to the Division 1 CIF quarterfinals as a senior.
Natalie Duffy competes in a junior tennis match. At Murrieta Valley High School, she was the school and Riverside County MVP twice.
Her high school coach contacted the Titans' then-head coach Dianne Matias. After watching a video of a Duffy match, Matias drove to Hemet to watch her practice.
"I had a scholarship lined up with Colorado State, but Dianne came in at the last minute with an offer. I walked around the Fullerton campus, and I met with the criminal justice adviser and Athletic Department officials," Duffy said. "I received positive reviews by former Fullerton players and other Big West players. I thought, 'This is where I'm going to be for the next four years. This is my second home.' "
As a freshman, Duffy notched an 11-5 overall record in singles at the No. 3 and 4 positions, finishing the season with a five-match winning streak. She was 11-4 in doubles. She went 9-11 in No. 1 and No. 2 singles and 11-doubles as a sophomore, earning All-Big West Honorable Mention in doubles.
Last season, Duffy went 10-9 overall playing No. 1 and No. 2 singles, and 9-8 in doubles. She received All-Big West Second Team honors.
The Titans advanced to the Big West Championship semifinals in her first two seasons.
Duffy will graduate in May with a criminal justice degree. She envisions a career as an investigator for the FBI or Interpol. She is a gifted linguist, being fluent in English and Thai and having studied Japanese and Korean. She also plans to take classes in Spanish. "Hopefully, in the next couple years, I will be able to speak five languages.
Her mother is Thai, and Duffy would like to someday live and work in Thailand. But for now, she has accepted a full-time coaching position at Agape Tennis Academy in Fountain Valley.
In her spare time, she enjoys watching Korean and Japanese dramas. And she enjoys dancing.
"I grew up dancing hip hop, jazz and other genres, and I've continued taking dance classes in college and at off-campus studios. I hope to dance even more after college. It is very fun."
