A native of Cairo, Egypt, Zaher has a 13-8 record at No. 1 singles entering the NCAA Tournament this Saturday. In 2001, Zaher won the conference MVP award with a 16-4 overall record. He picked up nine of his 13 wins this year in three sets, including a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Montana State’s Lukasz Mazur in the Big Sky championship match. He was also named Hornet Bookstore Athlete of the Week on March 31 for his efforts in leading the team to wins over Weber State and Utah State. Zaher becomes the first repeat winner of the award since 1994, when Idaho State’s Mike Castrilli was named MVP for three straight seasons (1992-94).

Abbou, a native of Tunis, Tunisia, joined the squad at the beginning of the 2002 Spring semester. A graduate of the Palmer Tennis Academy in Tampa, Fla., he made an immediate impact on the team after picking up the Hornets’ lone point in a 6-1 loss to UC Davis in the season opener. He led the team with a 14-8 singles record where he primarily played at the No. 4 spot. Abbou was named Big Sky Player of the Week on March 5 for his efforts in leading Sacramento State to a 7-0 win over rival Nevada.

Sacramento State (12-10, 6-0 Big Sky) will play Stanford (19-5) on Saturday, May 11, at noon at the Taube Family Tennis Center on the Stanford campus in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the match will play the Washington/Tulane winner on Sunday afternoon. The Hornets wrapped up their fourth Big Sky title in the last five years in 2002 and will be making their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament (1999, 2001, 2002)

Big Sky Conference Men’s Tennis All-Conference First Team

First Team School

Sherif Zaher* Sacramento State

Ali Abbou Sacramento State

Hestian Stoica Idaho State

Lukasz Mazur Montana State

Thijs Goossen Montana State

BJ Hauck Montana State

Daniel Lundstrom Northern Arizona

Don Williams Weber State

* Most Valuable Player