MEN'S TENNIS EDGES USF, 4-3, BEFORE TAKING DOWN MONTANA, 6-1

3/28/2010

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Just hours after defeating San Francisco, the Sacramento State men's tennis team completed a sweep of its Sunday doubleheader with a 6-1 win over Montana.

The Hornets improved to 11-7 overall and 6-1 in Big Sky Conference matches. USF dropped to 10-5 and Montana is now 4-5 overall and 2-1 in league play.

In the morning match, the Dons jumped to an early lead with two wins in doubles play. Mark DeCastro and Einar Hart downed Jason Smith and Jimmy Roberts, 8-3, at No. 3 for the first win. The Hornets tied things up when Anton Stryhas and Holden Ching earned an 8-6 win at No. 2. The doubles point came down to the No. 1 match where Thai Tu and Asaf Cohen outlasted Kiryl Harbatsiuk and Marko Starcevic, 9-7.

Harbatsiuk earned the first singles victory of the day and tied the match, 1-1, with a 6-0, 6-3, win over Tu at No. 1. The senior is now 16-1 on the year and is 8-0 at top of the ladder.

The Dons responded with a pair of wins to stretch their lead to 3-1. William Schumacher downed Tim Lantin, 7-5, 6-2, at No. 6 and Ola Bakke topped Ching, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 4.

From that point, the Hornets salvaged the victory by closing with three straight wins. Starcevic began the comeback with a 6-4, 6-4, win at No. 5. Stryhas and Smith then each overcame a 4-1 first set deficit for straight set victories. Stryhas topped Hart, 7-5, 6-3, at No. 2 and Smith defeated Cohen, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 3.

Sacramento State was in control for most of the afternoon contest against the Grizzlies. The Hornets swept all three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead. Harbatsiuk and Starcevic won 8-3 at No. 1 and were followed by an 8-6 win from Stryhas and Ching at No. 2 to secure the point. The final match was close but Roberts and Smith prevailed 9-7.

In singles play, Sacramento State won the first three completed matches to guarantee victory. Smith struck first with a smooth 6-3, 6-1, win over Raydner Ramos at No. 3. Ching recorded a 6-4, 6-2, victory over Josh Smith at No. 4 before Styhas blanked Mikolaj Borkowski, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 2.

Montana earned its sole point from David Cysneiros at No. 6 where he defeated Tim Lantin, 6-3, 6-1. The Hornets closed out the match with wins from Harbatsiuk and Starcevic. Harbatsiuk toped Carl Kuschke, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 1 and Starcevic won 7-6 (5), 7-5, in a tightly contested match at No. 5.

Sacramento State continues its homestand on Apr. 3 against Cal Poly at 1 p.m.


Sacramento State 4, San Francisco 3
Singles competition
1. #62 HARBATSIUK, Kiryl (SAC) def. Thai Tu (USF) 6-0, 6-3
2. STRYHAS, Anton (SAC) def. Einar Hart (USF) 7-5, 6-3
3. SMITH, Jason (SAC) def. Asaf Cohen (USF) 6-4, 6-4
4. Ola Bakke (USF) def. CHING, Holden (SAC) 6-1, 6-2
5. STARCEVIC, Marko (SAC) def. Mark DeCastro (USF) 6-4, 6-4
6. William Schumacher (USF) def. LANTIN, Tim (SAC) 7-5, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Thai Tu/Asaf Cohen (USF) def. HARBATSIUK, Kiryl/STARCEVIC, Marko (SAC) 9-7
2. STRYHAS, Anton/CHING, Holden (SAC) def. William Schumacher/Richard Bucalem (USF) 8-6
3. Mark DeCastro/Einar Hart (USF) def. SMITH, Jason/ROBERTS, Jimmy (SAC) 8-3

Match Notes:
San Francisco 10-5
Sacramento State 10-7
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,6,4,5,2,3)

Sacramento State 6, Montana 1
Singles competition
1. #62 HARBATSIUK, Kiryl (SAC) def. Carl Kuschke (UM) 6-3, 6-4
2. STRYHAS, Anton (SAC) def. Mikolaj Borkowski (UM) 6-0, 6-0
3. SMITH, Jason (SAC) def. Raydner Ramos (UM) 6-3, 6-1
4. CHING, Holden (SAC) def. Josh Smith (UM) 6-4, 6-2
5. STARCEVIC, Marko (SAC) def. Michael Facey (UM) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
6. David Cysneiros (UM) def. LANTIN, Tim (SAC) 6-3, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. STARCEVIC, Marko/HARBATSIUK, Kiryl (SAC) def. Carl Kuschke/Josh Smith (UM) 8-3
2. STRYHAS, Anton/CHING, Holden (SAC) def. Timo Gehrke/Raydner Ramos (UM) 8-6
3. ROBERTS, Jimmy/SMITH, Jason (SAC) def. David Cysneiros/Mikolaj Borkowski (UM) 9-7

Match Notes:
Montana 4-5, 2-1
Sacramento State 11-7, 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,4,2,6,1,5)