MEN’S TENNIS WINS FIFTH STRAIGHT, KNOCKS OFF SAINT MARY’S

3/8/2009

GOLD RIVER, Calif – In its first home match of the season, the Sacramento State men’s tennis team continued its hot play by knocking off non-conference rival Saint Mary’s, 6-1, Sunday afternoon at the Spare Time Indoor Tennis Center.

The Hornets, who have won their last five matches, improved to 6-4 overall. The loss for the Gaels snapped their season best four-match winning streak and dropped their record to 5-10 this season. The victory for Sacramento State also avenged a 4-3 loss suffered last season on Saint Mary’s home courts.

The doubles competition went quickly in favor of the Hornets who won all three matches. The most exciting match of the day came at No. 2 where junior Holden Ching and sophomore Marko Starcevic defeated Achim Christner and Sherif Hamdy, 9-8, including 7-3 in the tie-break.

The Hornets won five of the six singles matches, which included victories at the Nos. 1-5 slots in the ladder. Freshman Jason Smith got things started at No. 5 where he made quick work of Andrea Zannoni, 6-0, 6-0. 

Sophomore Kiryl Harbatsiuk improved his overall season record to 8-3 with a win over Lucas Tirelli at No. 1 (6-4, 6-2). At No. 2, junior Anton Stryhas defeated Christner 7-5, 6-0, and improved his overall record to 6-4 this season.

Sacramento State also got victories from Ching at No. 3 (7-6, 6-2) and Starcevic at No. 4 (6-4, 2-6, 6-3). The only point lost by the host Hornets came at No. 6 where sophomore Artur Klimenka lost to Youssef El Bouzkouri in straight sets 6-3, 7-5.

The Hornets jump back into Big Sky Conference play with a home match against Northern Arizona on Saturday, March 14, at 9 a.m. That match is the first of a doubleheader that day which will also see Sacramento State also take on non-conference foe Texas-Arlington at 2 p.m.

Saint Mary's vs Sacramento State
Mar 08, 2009 at Gold River, Calif.
(Spare Time Indoor Tennis Center)
 
Sacramento State 6, Saint Mary's 1
 
Singles competition
1. HARBATSIUK, Kiryl (SAC) def. Lucas Tirelli (SMC) 6-4, 6-2
2. STRYHAS, Anton (SAC) def. Achim Christner (SMC) 7-5, 6-0
3. CHING, Holden (SAC) def. Gavin Leon (SMC) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
4. STARCEVIC, Marko (SAC) def. Maxime Olivan (SMC) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
5. SMITH, Jason (SAC) def. Andrea Zannoni (SMC) 6-0, 6-0
6. Youssef El Bouzkouri (SMC) def. KLIMENKA, Artur (SAC) 6-3, 7-5
 
Doubles competition
1. HARBATSIUK, Kiryl/STRYHAS, Anton (SAC) def. Lucas Tirelli/Maxime Olivan (SMC) 8-0
2. CHING, Holden/STARCEVIC, Marko (SAC) def. Achim Christner/Sherif Hamdy (SMC) 9-8 (7-3)
3. SMITH, Jason/KLIMENKA, Artur (SAC) def. Mike Luck/Gavin Leon (SMC) 8-4
 
Match Notes:
Saint Mary's 5-10
Sacramento State 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,6,2,1,3,4)