SACRAMENTO STATE TO HOST THIS WEEK’S BIG SKY CONFERENCE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
4/23/2007
A LOOK AT THIS WEEK
The Sacramento State tennis program will host this week’s Big Sky Conference Tournament on Friday-Sunday, April 27-29, at the Gold River Racquet Club in Gold River, Calif. The Hornet men and women both won the league’s regular season title and have earned the No. 1 seed for the tournament.
Sacramento State’s women’s team will attempt to win its sixth consecutive Big Sky Tournament championship while the men’s team will attempt to win its first tournament title since 2003 and sixth since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97. The winner of the Big Sky Tournament receives the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament (first and second rounds take place May 11-13). The Hornet men (1999, 2001-03) and women (2002-06) have combined to make nine NCAA Tournament appearances since 1999.
The men’s tournament will begin on Friday, April 27, at 10 a.m. with a pair of quarterfinal matches. The women’s tournament also begins on Friday, with two quarterfinal matches taking place at 2 p.m. By virtue of having the No. 1 seed, both Sacramento State’s men’s and women’s teams will receive a first round bye, with the men playing their semifinal match against the lowest remaining seed at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 28. The Hornet women will take on the lowest remaining seed on Saturday at 2 p.m. The men’s championship match will take place at 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 29, while the women’s title match will be 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Admission is free to all matches.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, April 27
10 a.m. Men’s Quarterfinals
No. 3 Eastern Washington vs. No. 6 Weber State
No. 4 Northern Arizona vs. No. 5 Montana State
2 p.m. Women’s Quarterfinals
No. 3 Montana State vs. No. 6 Weber State
No. 4 Eastern Washington vs. No. 5 Montana
Saturday, April 28
10 a.m. Men’s Semifinals
No. 2 Montana vs. Highest Remaining Seed
No. 1 Sacramento State vs. Lowest Remaining Seed
2 p.m. Women’s Semifinals
No. 2 Northern Arizona vs. Highest Remaining Seed
No. 1 Sacramento State vs. Lowest Remaining Seed
Sunday, April 29
10 a.m. Men’s Final
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2
2 p.m. Women’s Final
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2
A LOOK AT THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
The Big Sky Tournament features the top six teams in the eight-member league (Northern Colorado is in its first year of Big Sky membership and won’t be eligible to participate in the tournament until next year, Portland State will not have tennis until next year). The seeds for the women’s tournament are as follows: No. 1 Sacramento State (15-6, 7-0), No. 2 Northern Arizona (11-9, 6-1), No. 3 Montana State (9-11, 5-2), No. 4 Eastern Washington (8-14, 4-3), No. 5 Montana (4-16, 3-4) and No. 6 Weber State (7-13, 1-6). Idaho State did not qualify for the women’s tournament. By virtue of owning the top two seeds, both Sacramento State and Northern Arizona will receive a first round bye in the single elimination tournament.
The seeds for the men’s tournament are as follows: No. 1 Sacramento State (18-5, 7-0), No. 2 Montana (11-8, 6-1), No. 3 Eastern Washington (11-11, 5-2), No. 4 Northern Arizona (7-13, 4-3), No. 5 Montana State (6-17, 3-4) and No. 6 Weber State (8-15, 2-5). Idaho State did not qualify for the men’s tournament.
In the women’s bracket on Friday, Montana State and Weber State will square off in one quarterfinal match at 2 p.m., while Eastern Washington and Montana will play in the other quarterfinal at 2 p.m. In the semifinals on Saturday, Sacramento State will face the lowest remaining seed (Eastern Washington, Montana or Weber State) and Northern Arizona will take on the highest remaining seed (Montana State, Eastern Washington or Montana) at 2 p.m. The winner of the two semifinal matches will play for the conference championship and the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 2 p.m.
In the men’s bracket on Friday, Eastern Washington and Weber State will square off in one quarterfinal match at 10 a.m., while Northern Arizona and Montana State will play in the other quarterfinal at 10 a.m. In the semifinals on Saturday, Sacramento State will face the lowest remaining seed (Weber State, Northern Arizona or Montana State) and Montana will take on the highest remaining seed (Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona or Montana State) at 10 a.m. The winner of the two semifinal matches will play for the conference championship and the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 10 a.m.
A LOOK AT THE SACRAMENTO STATE MEN’S TEAM
Sacramento State’s record of 18-5 is the team’s best regular season mark since the 2001 squad wrapped up the regular season with an 18-2 record. The Hornet men swept through their seven Big Sky matches with relative ease, winning 44 of a possible 49 matches in the process.
The team will look for its first Big Sky Tournament championship since the 2003 season. Since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97, the Hornets have won five league titles (1998-99, 2001-03) and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times (1999, 2001-03). The Big Sky champion did not receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament until the 1999 season. Otherwise, the team would have reached the Big Dance in 1998 as well.
Sacramento State has relied heavily on three freshmen (No. 1 Xavier Barajas-Smith, No. 2 Anton Stryhas and No. 6 Tim Lantin) and three seniors (No. 3 Gabriel Loredo, No. 4 Ramon Perez and No. 5 Warwick Foy). The six have combined to post a 98-30 record in singles play this season, including a team best 19-4 mark from Stryhas. Barajas-Smith is 17-5, Loredo 18-5, Perez 13-4, Foy 15-8 and Lantin is 16-5 in singles play.
The No. 1 doubles tandem of Loredo and Stryhas has been dominant with a 16-3 record, while the team’s No. 3 tandem of Perez and Foy is 15-4. Barajas-Smith and junior Hague Van Dillen have spent the majority of the season as the No. 2 doubles team, posting an 11-6 record.
A LOOK AT THE SACRAMENTO STATE WOMEN’S TEAM
You would be hard pressed to find a team in any sport within the Big Sky Conference that has been more dominant in the last six years than the Sacramento State women’s tennis team. Since 2002, the women have won 40 straight matches over Big Sky competition, including winning 197 of a possible 211 individual matches over that span. The Hornets won each of their seven matches against Big Sky teams this year by 7-0 scores. In addition, the Hornets received a Big Sky Player of the Week award 10 times this season.
The team, which is currently 15-6 overall and 7-0 in the Big Sky, has won each of the last five Big Sky championships and has advanced to the NCAA Tournament each of those years, a streak which began in 2002. Margarita Karnaukhova, who graduated from Sacramento State last year, became the first player in any sport in Big Sky history to win four straight league MVP awards (2003-06).
Karnaukhova’s dominance has been restored by this year’s freshman sensation Katrina Zheltova. The Minsk, Belarus, native is 16-5 as the Hornets’ No. 1 player, and 14 of those 16 victories have come in straight sets. That includes nine of those wins coming via 6-0, 6-0, or 6-1, 6-0, or 6-1, 6-1 scores. A good indicator of Zheltova’s talent was on display during the first match of the season when she narrowly lost to the NCAA defending singles national champion Susie Babos of Cal by the score of 6-2, 4-6, and 10-7 in the super tiebreaker.
What makes Sacramento State’s record even more impressive is the roster features just one upperclassman (senior Cecilia Helland). The rest of the Hornets are either freshmen or sophomores. That includes Zheltova (No. 1), sophomore Anastassia Lyssenko (No. 2), freshman Aileen Tsan (No. 3), and sophomores Luba Schifris (No. 4) and Joyce Martinez Gutierrez (No. 5). Helland plays at No. 6 in the Hornets’ singles lineup. The six have combined for an 82-34 singles record, including a team best 20-1 mark from Helland. In fact, Helland has won 20 consecutive singles matches since a season-opening defeat at Cal.
Lyssenko is 10-7, Tsan is 8-10, Martinez is 15-6 and Schifris is 13-5 in singles play. The Hornets’ No. 3 tandem of Tsan and Lyssenko is 17-2 in doubles play while the No. 1 team of Zheltova and Schifris are 13-5.
