MEN’S TENNIS WINS THIRD IN A ROW AFTER BLANKING EASTERN WASHINGTON

3/24/2010

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento State swept all three doubles and each of the six singles matches to post a 7-0 sweep of Eastern Washington in a Big Sky Conference men’s tennis match Wednesday afternoon at Rio Del Oro Racquet Club.

With the win, Sacramento State (9-7, 5-1) won its third straight while improving to 5-0 at home and 8-2 against unranked opposition.

Since losing its first Big Sky match of the season on the road to Northern Arizona, the Hornets have won five straight conference matches and outscored their opposition over that span by a 33-2 margin. That includes 7-0 decisions over Weber State, Idaho State, Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington.

In today’s match, each of the Hornets’ first five singles players won in straight sets, while Tim Lantin, at No. 6, won in a third set super tiebreaker.

Kiryl Harbatsiuk, who is the 62nd ranked collegiate player in the nation, won his match at No. 1 by a score of 6-4, 6-4 to run his winning streak to 14 straight singles victories. Anton Stryhas, playing at No. 2, won his match by a 6-2, 7-5 margin and has now won each of his last five matches.

At No. 3, Jason Smith improved to 13-3 this season in singles play after defeating Fernando Mussolini by a score of 6-1, 6-1. Holden Ching won at No. 4 in easy fashion (6-0, 6-2) and Marko Starcevic won his third straight decision with a 7-5, 6-4 victory at No. 5.

The Hornets’ doubles teams of No. 1 Harbatsiuk/Starcevic (8-4), No. 2 Stryhas/Ching, 8-7 (5), and No. 3 Smith/Jimmy Roberts (8-1) were each victorious.

In the midst of a five-match homestand, Sacramento State returns to action this Sunday, March 28, for a home doubleheader. The Hornets will take on both San Francisco (9 a.m.) and conference foe Montana (1 p.m.). Montana (2-0) is the only undefeated team in the Big Sky, followed by the Hornets (5-1), Northern Arizona (3-1) and Weber State (2-1) to round out the top four teams.

Sacramento State 7, Eastern Washington 0

Singles competition
1. #62 HARBATSIUK, Kiryl (SAC) def. RIEGO DE DIOS, Nico (EWU-M) 6-4, 6-4
2. STRYHAS, Anton (SAC) def. SIMIKIC, Stefan (EWU-M) 6-2, 7-5
3. SMITH, Jason (SAC) def. MUSSOLINI, Fernando (EWU-M) 6-1, 6-1
4. CHING, Holden (SAC) def. SANCHEZ, Julian (EWU-M) 6-0, 6-2
5. STARCEVIC, Marko (SAC) def. MALAGUTTI, Flavio (EWU-M) 7-5, 6-4
6. LANTIN, Tim (SAC) def. KOETJE, Kyle (EWU-M) 5-7, 6-0, 1-0 (10-6)

Doubles competition
1. HARBATSIUK, Kiryl/STARCEVIC, Marko (SAC) def. RIEGO DE DIOS, Nico/HENNINGER, Chad (EWU-M) 8-4
2. STRYHAS, Anton/CHING, Holden (SAC) def. MUSSOLINI, Fernando/SANCHEZ, Julian (EWU-M) 8-7 (7-5)
3. SMITH, Jason/ROBERTS, Jimmy (SAC) def. SIMIKIC, Stefan/ANDERSON, Kevin (EWU-M) 8-1

Match Notes:
Eastern Washington 5-8, 2-2
Sacramento State 9-7, 5-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,4,1,6,2,5)