Men''s Tennis, 2002 Big Sky Champions |
BOZEMAN, Mont. —The Sacramento State men’s tennis team won its second-consecutive Big Sky Conference championship and its fourth title in the last five years, as the Hornets knocked off host Montana State, 4-3, Sunday morning at the Montana State Tennis Complex. Sacramento State has now won seven straight matches and improved its record to 12-10 overall and 6-0 in the Big Sky. The victory also extended the team’s Big Sky win streak to 13 matches. The team also raised its record to 33-1 against conference foes over the last five years.Sacramento State started the match in the hole by coming up short in the doubles competition. The tandem of senior Sherif Zaher and freshman Matthew Jones fell to the Bobcat duo of Thijs Goossens and BJ Hauck, 8-6. Senior Fabio Jesus and freshman Peter Farkas won their No. 2 match over Lukasz Mazur and Eddie Yang, 8-3. Senior Josh Price and sophomore Nick Sheehan narrowly fell to Braden Olson and Jason Swanson, 8-6, at the No. 3 spot.
In singles play, Zaher defeated Mazur at the one, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. At the No. 2 spot, Jesus was defeated by Goossens, 6-4, 6-2. Jones won his No. 3 position match over Hauck, 6-4, 6-4. Freshman Ali Abbou lost his match to Olson, 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 4. Sheehan improved his record to 7-13 with a win over Yang, 6-3, 6-2, at the five. Farkas won, perhaps, the biggest match of his short collegiate career by clinching the championship for the Hornets with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Swanson at the No. 6 spot.
With the victory, the Hornets received the conference’s automatic bid and will learn its pairing and match time for the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, May 2. First round action will get underway May 11-12.
Sacramento State has made two previous trips to the NCAA Tournament. In 1999, the Hornets fell to Stanford, 4-0 in the team’s first-ever appearance. Last year, Sacramento State fell to No. 3 UCLA, 4-0, but not before capping the best season in school history with a 20-3 mark.
SACRAMENTO STATE 4, MONTANA STATE 3
Singles Results
Sherif Zaher(SAC) def. Lukasz Mazur (MSU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
Fabio Jesus (SAC) def. by Thijs Goossens (MSU) 6-4, 6-2
Matthew Jones (SAC) def. BJ Hauck (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
Ali Abbou (SAC) def. by Braden Olson (MSU) 6-2, 6-1
Nick Sheehan (SAC) def. Eddie Yangi (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
*Peter Farkas (SAC) def. Jason Swanson (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles Results
Zaher/Jones (SAC) def. by Goossens/Hauck (MSU) 8-6
Jesus/Farkas (SAC) def. Mazur/Yang (MSU) 8-3
Sheehan/Price(SAC) def. by Olson/Swanson (MSU) 8-6
* Clinched Match
