PORTLAND, Ore. –Led by three freshmen, the Sacramento State men’s tennis team avenged an earlier loss this season to Montana, this time, defeating the Grizzlies, 4-2, Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the 2003 Big Sky Conference Championship, hosted by Portland State. With the win, the Hornets improved to 10-15 on the year while Montana concluded its season with a 13-10 record.Sacramento State began the day by winning the two of the three doubles matches to claim the point. The No. 3 doubles match did not finish because the Hornets already clinched the point. At the No. 1 spot, junior Nick Sheehan and freshman Anders Albertsen survived a tough match, defeating Jan Steenekamp and Stan Nevolovich, 9-8 (7-0 in the super-tiebreak). At the two, sophomore Peter Farkas and freshman Lewis Van Splunteren defeated Brian Devlin and Gus Treyz, 8-4.
In singles play, Sheehan fell to Steenekamp at the one, 7-5, 5-2. At the two, Albertsen claimed his match with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Nevolovich. Freshman Jakub Sliva dropped a tough 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 match to Ryan O’Neill, at the three. Freshman Julien Chatelan playing in his first match since Mar. 5 defeated Varun Giri, 6-2, 6-2, at the four. Chatelan, who improved to 11-2 on the year in singles play, had been sidelined due to a shoulder injury. Van Spluntern won his No. 5 match over Treyz, 6-3, 7-5 to clinch the match for the Hornets. Farkas’ match with Devlin did not finish due to the Hornets’ clinching the win.
Sacramento State has now won its fifth-consecutive Big Sky Tournament match and will now play No. 1 seed Northern Arizona, Saturday, April 26, in the Big Sky semifinals. The Hornets defeated the Lumberjacks in last year’s Big Sky semifinals, 4-3, en route to winning its second-consecutive conference championship. The winner will face the winner of the Idaho State-Montana State match for the Big Sky title on Sunday. First serve against NAU is set for 9 a.m.
Sacramento State 4, Montana 2
Big Sky Tournament Quarterfinals
Saint John’s Racquet Club
Portland, Ore.
Singles:
1: Jan Steenekamp (UM) def. Nick Sheehan (SAC) 7-5, 5-2
2: Anders Albertsen (SAC) def. Stan Nevolovich (UM) 7-5, 6-1
3: Ryan O''Neill (UM) def. Jakub Sliva (SAC) 6-4, 6-7, 6-2
4: Julien Chatelan (SAC) def. Varun Giri (UM) 6-2, 6-2
5: Lewis Van Splunteren (SAC) def. Gus Treyz (UM) 6-3, 7-5
6: Brian Devlin (UM) vs. Peter Farkas (SAC) DNF
Doubles:
1: Albertsen/Sheenhan (SAC) def. Steenekamp/Nevolovich (UM) 9-8 (7-0)
2: Farkas/Splunteren (SAC) def. Devlin/Treyz (UM) 8-4
3: O''Neill/Giri (UM) vs. Chatelan/Sliva (SAC) DNF
