TULSA, Okla. -- Tulsa narrowly picked up the doubles point, and then got victories at Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 6 singles to defeat Sacramento State, 5-2, in a non-conference men’s tennis match Saturday evening at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
Tulsa, which is ranked 37th in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), improved to 5-3 with the victory, and 4-2 at home. Sacramento State (3-4) has now played all seven of its matches thus far on the road with three of those contests coming against ranked competition.
The Hornets picked up their lone victories in singles play where senior Kiryl Harbatsiuk defeated 44th-ranked Marcelo Arevalo, 6-3, 7-6 (4). Harbatsiuk, who is ranked 16th in the nation, has now won five straight singles matches after beginning the season 0-2. Sophomore Aliaksandr Malko improved to 4-3 in singles play after he defeated Alastair Barnes, 4-6, 6-3, and 13-11 in the super tiebreaker.
Junior Jason Smith kept things close at No. 2, but eventually fell, 6-4, 6-4, to Ashley Watling. Senior Marko Starcevic (6-1, 6-1 at No. 3), junior Javier Millan (7-6, 6-1 at No. 5) and freshman Josh Lorentzen (7-5, 6-2 at No. 6) also lost for the Hornets.
Harbatsiuk and Starcevic won their doubles match at No. 1, but Tulsa pulled out victories at Nos. 2 and 3 to pick up the doubles point. At No. 2, Malko and Millan were deadlocked at 7-7, but Tulsa pulled out the match by a 9-7 score.
Sacramento State’s seemingly never-ending run of road matches continues tomorrow when the team plays 55th-ranked Oklahoma State in Tulsa at 8 a.m. PST.
Sacramento State vs Tulsa
Feb 12, 2011 at Tulsa, Okla.
(Case Tennis Center)
#37 Tulsa 5, Sacramento State 2
Singles competition
1. #16 HARBATSIUK, Kiryl (SACMEN) def. #44 Marcelo Arevalo (TLS) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
2. Ashley Watling (TLS) def. SMITH, Jason (SACMEN) 6-4, 6-4
3. Japie De Klerk (TLS) def. STARCEVIC, Marko (SACMEN) 6-1, 6-1
4. MALKO, Aliaksandr (SACMEN) def. Alastair Barnes (TLS) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (13-11)
5. Tristan Jackson (TLS) def. MILLAN, Javier (SACMEN) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
6. Grant Ive (TLS) def. LORENTZEN, Josh (SACMEN) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. HARBATSIUK, Kiryl/STARCEVIC, Marko (SACMEN) def. Alastair Barnes/Grant Ive (TLS) 8-4
2. Marcelo Arevalo/Japie De Klerk (TLS) def. MILLAN, Javier/MALKO, Aliaksandr (SACMEN) 9-7
3. Ashley Watling/Rusty Turpin (TLS) def. SMITH, Jason/LORENTZEN, Josh (SACMEN) 8-5
Match Notes:
Sacramento State 3-4
Tulsa 5-3; National ranking #37
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,2,6,4,5,1)
