STANFORD, Calif. – Ninth-ranked Stanford won the doubles point and all six singles matches, four of which came in straight sets, to knock off Sacramento State, 7-0, in a non-conference men’s tennis match Saturday afternoon at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
With the loss, Sacramento State, which opened the season on Thursday, fell to 0-2 for the first time since the 2004 season. The Hornets are still a combined 54-22 over the last three-plus years, but had their streak of 24 consecutive Big Sky Conference regular season victories snapped on Thursday at Northern Arizona.
Stanford, which is ranked ninth in the ITA national rankings, was playing its first dual match of the spring season.
The Cardinal opened the match by winning two of the three doubles matches to earn the doubles point. The Sacramento State tandem of
Holden Ching and
Jason Smith won at the No. 3 spot by the score of 8-4.
In singles play,
Kiryl Harbatsiuk (No. 2) and Smith (No. 4) split the first two sets with their opponents, before falling the third. Harbatsiuk fell in a third-set super tiebreaker to Alex Clayton, 10-2, while Smith lost to Richard Wire, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Clayton is ranked 37
th in the nation.
Sacramento State returns to action for a two-day, three-match homestand next weekend (Jan. 30-31). The Hornets will play a doubleheader against conference foes Weber State (10 a.m.) and Idaho State (2 p.m.) on Saturday, followed by their annual Causeway matchup with UC Davis on Sunday at 1 p.m. All three matches will take place at the Rio Del Oro Racquet Club in Sacramento.
Singles competition
1. Klahn, Bradley (STAN) def. STRYHAS, Anton (SAC) 6-1, 6-4
2. Clayton, Alex (STAN) def. HARBATSIUK, Kiryl (SAC) 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-2)
3. Thacher, Ryan (STAN) def. STARCEVIC, Marko (SAC) 6-4, 6-1
4. Wire, Richard (STAN) def. SMITH, Jason (SAC) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
5. Kandath, Matt (STAN) def. CHING, Holden (SAC) 6-0, 6-0
6. Hirshman, Greg (STAN) def. LANTIN, Tim (SAC) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Thacher, Ryan/Klahn, Bradley (STAN) def. HARBATSIUK, Kiryl/STRYHAS, Anton (SAC) 8-4
2. Wire, Richard/Clayton, Alex (STAN) def. STARCEVIC, Marko/LANTIN, Tim (SAC) 8-1
3. SMITH, Jason/CHING, Holden (SAC) def. Kandath, Matt/Lin, Denis (STAN) 8-4
Match Notes:
Sacramento State 0-2
Stanford 1-0; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,1,6,4,2,3)
