SMITH ONE VICTORY SHY OF ADVANCING TO THE ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP MAIN DRAW 10/6/2009 TULSA, Okla. - Sacramento State sophomore Jason Smith won his first and second round matches of the qualifying draw, and is now just one victory shy of becoming the first men’s tennis player in school history to reach the main draw of the ITA All-American Tennis Championships. The tournament is being played at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the University of Tulsa’s campus, and is widely considered the premier hard court event of the fall collegiate season featuring the top players in Div. I. A total of 128 players began competing in the qualifying draw on Monday, and the field has been narrowed to 32 players. The 16 players remaining in the qualifying draw automatically get slotted into the 64-player main draw (with 48 at-large selections) which begins on Thursday, Oct. 8. Smith needs just one victory to become one of those 16 players that get slotted into the main draw after beating No. 25 seed Steven Forman of Wake Forest in the first round, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1, and following that up with a victory this morning over UC Irvine’s Fabian Matthews, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. Smith has already become the only Hornet men’s tennis player in school history to advance as far as the third round of the All-American Championships qualifying round (teammate Anton Stryhas reached the second round in 2006 and 2008, and Kiryl Harbatsiuk reached the second round this year). In tomorrow’s third-round match, Smith will take on No. 9 seed Kallim Stewart of UCLA. Stewart is currently ranked 57th in the ITA’s preseason singles rankings. Five other Hornets competed at the event, including Harbatsiuk, who saved two match points to eventually defeat No. 29 seed Patrick Daciek of Virginia Tech in the first round, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1. The reigning Big Sky Conference MVP then lost a heartbreaker in the second round earlier today, falling to Ole Miss’ Tucker Vorster, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Stryhas also competed in the qualifying draw, but lost his first round match yesterday to Baylor’s Attila Bucko, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Three other Hornets – senior Holden Ching, junior Marko Starcevic and sophomore Jimmy Roberts – competed in the prequalifying round over the weekend. Roberts advanced the furthest of the three players, eventually falling in the third round. Below are the scores for all six Hornets that made the singles portion of the event. The Hornets’ tandems of Stryhas/Harbatsiuk, Ching/Starcevic and Smith/Roberts are competing in the doubles draw of the tournament. Ching/Starcevic were eliminated earlier this afternoon after falling in the first round of the qualifying draw to Indiana’s Alexander Van and Lachlan Ferguson, 8-6. Smith/Roberts were late additions to the qualifying draw and won their first round match over UC Irvine's Sam Gould/Zac Tsai, 9-8 (5) before falling in the second round to a tandem from Texas, 8-6. Stryhas and Harbatsiuk will become the first Hornet doubles team in school history to play in the main draw of the tournament later this week. In all, a school-record tying six men’s tennis players represented Sacramento State at this year’s ITA All-American Championships. SINGLES DRAW QUALIFYING ROUND KIRYL HARBATSIUK Oct. 6 - Round 2 - lost to Tucker Vorster (Ole Miss), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 Oct. 5 - Round 1 - def. No. 29 seed Patrick Daciek (Virginia Tech), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 JASON SMITH Oct. 6 - Round 2 - def. Fabian Matthews (UC Irvine), 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 Oct. 5 - Round 1 - def. No. 25 seed Steven Forman (Wake Forest), 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 ANTON STRYHAS Oct. 5 - Round 1 - lost to Attila Bucko (Baylor), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 PRE-QUALIFYING ROUND HOLDEN CHING Oct. 3 - Round 2 - lost to No. 19 seed Victor Melo (Middle Tennessee), 6-2, 6-4 Oct. 3 - Round 1 - Bye MARKO STARCEVIC Oct. 3 - Round 2 - lost to No. 31 seed Steven Williams (Ohio State), 6-3, 6-3 Oct. 3 - Round 1 - Bye JIMMY ROBERTS Oct. 4 - Round 3 - lost to No. 8 seed Edgar Rodriguez (USC Upstate), 6-1, 6-1 Oct. 3 - Round 2 - def. Drew Feder (Saint Louis), 6-2, 6-3 Oct. 3 - Round 1 - Bye DOUBLES DRAW QUALIFYING ROUND HOLDEN CHING/MARKO STARCEVIC Oct. 6 - Round 1 - lost to Lachlan Ferguson/Alexander Van (Indiana), 8-6 JASON SMITH/JIMMY ROBERTS Oct. 6 - Round 2 - lost to Ed Corrie/Vasko Mladenov (Texas), 8-6 Oct. 6 - Round 1 - def. Sam Gould/Zac Tsai (UC Irvine), 9-8 (5)