The Sacramento State men’s tennis team opens its 2005 dual-match season by hosting Cal Poly on Sunday, Feb. 6, at Rio Del Oro Racquet Club. First serve against the Mustangs is set for 10 a.m.

Sacramento State is coming off a 12-10 season in 2004 where the team saw its three-consecutive Big Sky Conference championship streak come to an end. The team lost to Idaho State in the Big Sky semifinals. Sacramento State placed second in the conference with a 4-2 record. The Hornets will be looking to win their sixth Big Sky title in the past eight years in 2005.

Cal Poly comes into the match with a 1-4 record. The team''s lone win came against Div. III Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 4-3, on Jan. 28. Last season, the Mustangs finished in 4th place in the Big West Conference with a 13-14 record. Cal Poly is led by junior Brett Van Linge, who earned second-team all-Big West honors last season.

A Look at the Hornets

Leading the Hornets into the season are seniors Matt Jones and Peter Farkas. A native of Woodland Hills, Calif., Jones was named first team all-Big Sky for the first time in his career last year after posting a career and team-best 15-7 record in singles action. This season, Jones will play at No. 1 after splitting time with former Hornet Nick Sheehan. Farkas, a native of Victoria, B.C., earned honorable mention Big Sky honors for the first time after posting a career-high 14-8 record. Farkas came to Sacramento State primarily as a doubles specialist, but has improved his singles record each of the past three years.

Sacramento State returns a talented core of sophomores who were battle tested in their first season as Hornets. Leading the charge for the second-year players is Ramon Perez. A native of Cancun, Mexico, Perez finished his opening campaign with a 10-8 singles record. This past fall, Perez claimed his first singles title at the Pacific Fall Tennis Invitational in Stockton. He defeated sophomore and teammate Warwick Foy, 6-3, 6-3 for the championship.

Foy, a native of Wellington, New Zealand, finished his first campaign with a 10-10 record in singles play, including a perfect 5-0 at the No. 6 ladder position. He and Perez also teamed to finish 8-1 in doubles competition, the best mark on the squad.

Joakim Rydberg begins his second season after primarily playing at No. 2, where he is also projected to start again this season. Although he finished with an 8-12 record, his best record came at No. 2 with an 8-3 record.

Will McAlister returns for his second after seeing limited action his freshman year. He compiled a 3-2 singles record in 2004. McAlister will see time playing as a doubles specialist in 2005.

Junior Juniad Hossein will finally see his first action as a Hornet after redshirting the year due to NCAA regulations after transferring from the University of Oregon. In the fall, Hossain claimed his biggest win with an upset of number three seed Martin Marechal of Saint Mary’s in the second round of the Pacific Invite. Hossain is a native of Melbourne, Australia.

Michael Thomsen is the lone freshman on this year’s squad. He comes to Sacramento State from Charlottenlund, Denmark. In the fall he posted an 8-3 record, while making the semifinals of the Pacific Invite.

Also joining the squad is junior Thomas Morton. A native of Yuba City, Calif., Morton just transferred to the Hornets from Sonoma State at the beginning of the spring semester. In the fall, he was part of a doubles team the claimed the PNI Corp. Men’s Open Championship, hosted by Sonoma State.

Head Coach Sherif Zaher

Former two-time Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player Sherif Zaher begins his third season as head coach of the Sacramento State men''s tennis team. Zaher, who starred for the Hornet men''s tennis team in 2001-02, became the third men''s tennis coach since the program joined the Div. I ranks (1991-pres.) on Nov. 7, 2002. Zaher owns a career 24-26 record.

In 2003, he guided the men''s tennis program to its third-consecutive Big Sky title and fifth in the last six years despite fielding a roster that featured four freshmen, three sophomores and one junior. After the Hornets posted a 3-2 conference record during the regular season, the team swept through the Big Sky Tournament, defeating Montana, Northern Arizona and Idaho State by the identical scores of 4-2.

Zaher was named the Big Sky MVP in 2002 after leading the Hornets to their fourth Big Sky title. That season, he posted a 13-9 singles record while playing at the No. 1 position. Zaher also posted a 9-9 record at No. 1 doubles with current Hornet Matthew Jones and former Hornet Josh Price.

In 2001, the Cairo, Egypt, native was named Big Sky MVP in his first season with the Hornets after recording a 16-4 record at No. 1 singles and a 17-3 mark at the No. 1 doubles position. Eleven of his 16 singles'' victories came in straight sets. In addition, he was named Big Sky Tennis Player of the Week on four occasions.

Zaher spent the 2000 season at American University in Cairo. That year, he was named the Egyptian national champion in both singles and doubles. He spent the first two years of his collegiate career (1998-99) at the University of Georgia where he played No. 6 singles and helped guide the Bulldogs to the 1999 national championship.

Zaher was named Sacramento State''s Hornet Bookstore Student-Athlete of the Year in 2002 for his achievements both on the court and in the classroom. He graduated in the spring of 2002 with a bachelor''s degree in psychology. He is scheduled to complete his master''s degree in sports psychology this May.

Zaher was also a two-time Big Sky all-academic selection. His sister, Nirvana, is currently a senior on the Sacramento State gymnastics team.

Home, Sweet, Home

After playing only six home matches in 2004, Sacramento State will play at home 12 times in 2005, which will set a new school record. If the Hornets are going to climb back to the top of the Big Sky Conference, they will need to duplicate the success they had last season. A year ago, Sacramento State posted a perfect 6-0 record at both Rio Del Oro and on campus at the Sacramento State Tennis Courts located next to Shea Stadium (softball stadium). The Hornets will host a five-match homestand, their longest since the 2001 season.

Conference Dominance

Since joining the Big Sky in 1997, Sacramento State has posted a 44-6 (.880) record against conference competition, easily the best mark among all current Big Sky schools. Since 1998, the Hornets have either placed first or second in both the regular season and/or Big Sky Tournament. From 1998-2002, Sacramento State posted a 34-1 record against Big Sky competition with their lone loss in that time span coming against Montana State in the 2000 Big Sky Championship final.