STRYHAS AND HARBATSIUK BOTH NAMED TO THE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM

5/20/2010

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento State senior Anton Stryhas and junior Kiryl Harbatsiuk, both members of the Hornet men’s tennis team, were second team academic all-district selections, it was announced today by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America).

To be eligible for the award, nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the their team’s games, been a starter or important reserve, have at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average, and have completed at least one full calendar year at his/her current institution.

Stryhas and Harbatsiuk were among 22 athletes from District 8 to receive academic all-district honors (10 first teamers, 12 second teamers). District 8 consists of Div. I institutions located in California, Hawaii, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. It marks the first time that Stryhas and Harbatsiuk have earned the honor during their careers.

Stryhas became the first men’s tennis player in school history to be named first team all-Big Sky Conference four times, and was named the Sacramento State Senior Student-Athlete of the Year earlier this month. A six-time Big Sky Player of the Week Award winner during his career, the Minsk, Belarus, native posted career dual-match records of 72-19 (.791) in singles play and 66-26 (.717) in doubles play. This season, he went 16-9 in singles (primarily at No. 2 in the team’s lineup) and 15-10 in doubles despite battling an assortment of injuries throughout the season.

Harbatsiuk was recently named the Big Sky MVP for the second straight season, and first team all-conference for the third consecutive year after completing arguably the best season in school history. He finished the year with a school-record 25-match singles winning streak despite being the team’s No. 1 player. The Minsk, Belarus, native went 26-1 in dual play with his only loss coming in a third-set super tiebreaker to seventh-ranked Stanford’s Alex Clayton on Jan. 23. Harbatsiuk was ranked as high as 40th in the nation at one point during the season, and now has a career dual-match singles record of 65-11, and 52-20 in doubles play. He will compete again later this month (May 26) in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Singles Championship in Athens, Georgia.

Stryhas and Harbatsiuk helped lead this year’s team to an NCAA Tournament appearance, a Big Sky Tournament championship, Big Sky regular season title, a 17-12 overall record and a 7-1 conference mark.