From June 17 to August 9, GoMatadors.com will present the top CSUN Moments from the 2023-24 sports season. Today, we celebrate three Matador programs that finished in the national rankings in 2023-24.
After falling in the semifinals of the Big West Championship in April, the Matadors finished the season with a 13-16 overall record and a No. 14 national ranking in the AVCA/NVA National Collegiate MVB Poll. In earning its highest national ranking since 2019, CSUN earned 135 points in the poll after earning a season-high 157 points on Apr. 1, CSUN was also ranked a season-best 14th in consecutive weeks after coming in at No. 15 on Apr. 1. The Matadors were ranked in all 17 polls during the 2024 season after being ranked in the AVCA/NVA Top-15 poll for 10 straight weeks last season (Feb. 6-Apr. 10). Prior to moving back into the top-15 poll for the first time since the 2020 season on Feb. 6, 2023 (No. 15), CSUN had been ranked in the AVCA Top-15 for 62 consecutive weeks and 262 of the last 289 weekly polls dating back to the 2002 season.
Along the way, the Matadors posted impressive wins at No. 2 Hawai’i (first win in Honolulu since 2013), No. 3 UC Irvine, and No. 4 Stanford.
The Matador water polo team closed the 2024 season at 18-15 overall and tied for the No. 16 national ranking in the CWPA national poll. The team’s 18 wins on the season was the program’s most since 2014 while the national ranking was CSUN’s highest since 2015. CSUN would crack the top-20 in the poll beginning on April 17 and remain in the top-20 over the final five weeks of the season. In 2024, CSUN maintained a national ranking each week for the second consecutive season as the program has not dropped out of the top-25 since Feb. 2022.
CSUN Water Polo picked up three victories over nationally-ranked teams in the season, headlined by two wins over top-15 programs in No. 14 UC Davis and No. 15 UC Santa Barbara during the Big West season.
In women’s tennis, the Matadors posted one of their best seasons since joining the Big West over two decades ago. CSUN wrapped up the season with a 13-7 overall record and 7-2 mark in Big West play as the Matadors were ranked No. 74 in the final ITA national poll. The program’s national ranking was the team’s first since the end of the 2015 season. CSUN also received a spot in the top-25 Mid Major rankings to close the season with a No. 24 ranking. The Matadors, who finished second in the Big West standings, registered a .778 conference win percentage, which was the team’s best in their Big West history. Over the past two seasons, the Matadors have gone 30-14 along with 13-5 in conference play.
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