MEN'S TENNIS DOWNS AGGIES, 6-1, VAULTS HORNETS TO CAUSWAY CUP LEAD

4/10/2009

DAVIS, Calif. – The Sacramento State men’s tennis team picked up their 16th win of the season with a 6-1 victory over arch rival UC Davis at the Marya Welch Tennis Center on April 10. The win also catapults the Hornets to a slight lead in the Causeway Cup. And with only three more sporting events left to decide the cup, the win was a big one.

On the doubles side the men swept the host Aggies. The top tandem of Kiryl Harbatsiuk and Anton Stryhas, which has been dynamite all season, made quick work of the Davis pairing of Hunter Lee and Nick Lopez, 8-3. Holden Ching and Marko Starcevic also came away victorious beating Tyler Lee and Michael Reiser, 8-2. However, the biggest win came at No. 3 where the pairing of Artur Klimenka and Jason Smith shut out Josh Albert and Nic Amaroli, 8-0.

In the singles matches, the Hornets continued their dominance winning five of the six matches. Freshman Jason Smith scored the first point of the math with a 6-3, 6-1, win over Reiser at No. 2. Harbatsiuk, fresh off being named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week, defeated Lopez at No. 1, 6-1, 6-1, to make the score 3-0 in favor of the Hornets. The clinching point came from Starcevic at No. 5 with a 6-2, 6-4, victory over Chris Aria.

Klimenka stretched the Sacramento State lead to 5-0 put was pushed to a super tie-break against Amaroli before winning 6-4, 6-7 (5), 1-0 (10-5). After Ching was defeated at No. 4, Stryhas closed out the match with  7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) win over Lee.

The Hornets have nearly two weeks off before returning to action against Big Sky opponent Montana State at the Rio Del Oro Racquet Club on April 23. The following day the Hornets compete in the Big Sky Conference Tournament that they will be hosting at the Gold River Racquet Club. 

Sacramento State 6, UC Davis 1
Apr 10, 2009 at Davis, Calif.
(Marya Welch Tennis Center)

Singles competition
1. HARBATSIUK, Kiryl (SAC) def. LOPEZ, Nick (UCD) 6-1, 6-1
2. SMITH, Jason (SAC) def. REISER, Michael (UCD) 6-3, 6-1
3. STRYHAS, Anton (SAC) def. LEE, Hunter (UCD) 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5)
4. LEE, Tyler (UCD) def. CHING, Holden (SAC) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. STARCEVIC, Marko (SAC) def. ARIA, Chris (UCD) 6-2, 6-4
6. KLIMENKA, Artur (SAC) def. AMAROLI, Nic (UCD) 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 1-0 (10-5)

Doubles competition
1. HARBATSIUK, Kiryl/STRYHAS, Anton (SAC) def. LEE, Hunter/LOPEZ, Nick (UCD) 8-3
2. CHING, Holden/STARCEVIC, Marko (SAC) def. LEE, Tyler/REISER, Michael (UCD) 8-2
3. KLIMENKA, Artur/SMITH, Jason (SAC) def. ALBERT, Josh/AMAROLI, Nic (UCD) 8-0

Match Notes:
Sacramento State 16-6
UC Davis 3-14
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,1,5,6,4,3)