WOMEN’S TENNIS FALLS TO NO. 2 STANFORD AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Sacramento State women’s tennis team ended its season today after a 4-0 loss to second-ranked Stanford in its first-ever appearance at the NCAA Championships. The Hornets finished the season with a 20-4 overall record, the best mark in program history. The Cardinal improved to 22-0 all-time in NCAA opening round matches.
The Hornets struggled early in the match with doubles play dominated by Stanford. Gabriella Lundqvist and Marta Gronowicz lost their match to top ranked Lauren Kalvaria and Gabriela Lastra, 8-1, while Roberta Fessenko and Italina Kirknis were defeated by the No. 14 tandem of Lauren Barnikow and Erin Burdette, 8-0. Hornet duo Petra Abraham and Amanda Sanches did not finish their match as the doubles point was clinched by Stanford.
In singles play, Stanford swept the first three matches to clinch the Cardinal victory. Gronowicz lost her contest to sixth-ranked Lastra at the No. 2 slot, while Sanches and Cristina Rivieccio also suffered defeats. Sanches had won her previous eight matches prior to today''s loss.
Sacramento State placed a program-record four players on the Big Sky all-conference team. Lundqvist and Gronowicz were each named to the first team while Abraham and Sanches were named to the second team. Bill Campbell was also named Big Sky Coach of the Year after leading Sacramento State to its best record in school history (20-4 overall, 6-0 Big Sky) and the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
#2 Stanford 4, Sacramento State 0
Doubles
No. 1 - #1 Lauren Kalvaria/Gabriela Lastra (S) d. Gabriella Lundqvist/Marta Gronowicz, 8-1
No. 2 - #14 Lauren Barnikow/Erin Burdette (S) d. Roberta Fessenko/Italina Kirknis, 8-0
No. 3 - Keiko Tokuda/Story Tweedie-Yates (S) v. Petra Abraham/Amanda Sanches, suspended (5-3 Stanford)
Singles
No. 1 - #4 Lauren Kalvaria (S) v. Gabriella Lundqvist, suspended (6-2, 2-0 Stanford)
No. 2 - #6 Gabriela Lastra (S) d. Marta Gronowicz, 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 - #16 Lauren Barnikow (S) v. Roberta Fessenko, suspended (5-4 Stanford)
No. 4 - #13 Erin Burdette (S) v. Italina Kirknis, suspended (6-0, 5-1 Stanford)
No. 5 - Keiko Tokuda (S) d. Amanda Sanches, 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 - Emilia Anderson (S) d. Cristina Rivieccio, 6-1, 6-1
