BOTH MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TENNIS TABBED FAVORITES IN BIG SKY PRESEASON POLL
1/15/2013
Aliaksandr Malko and Rebeca Delgado will each lead preseason favorites this season.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Both the Sacramento State men's and women's tennis teams were voted preseason favorites to win the Big Sky Conference by the league's coaches, the conference announced on Tuesday.
The women's tennis team is coming off its 11th consecutive Big Sky regular season championship, conference tournament title and NCAA tournament appearance. Head coach Dima Hrynashka's squad has won an amazing 92 straight matches against Big Sky foes, including both regular season and postseason meetings.
This season's roster will feature returning first team all-Big Sky selection Rebeca Delgado. Delgado, who spent most of her time at No. 2 and No. 3 singles last season, will be joined by returning singles starters junior Sophie Lohscheidt (No. 4) and junior Katharina Knoebl (No. 5). Sophomores Andrea Gomez-Carus and Chyna Brown and senior Jessica Eung also saw court time last season. The Hornets feature four new freshmen on the 2012-13 roster. Saskia Angerer, Olivia Boija, Jennifer Nguyen and Siobhan Ryan-Bovey will all get a chance to break into the Hornets' top-6 rotation this season.
The Hornets will have to replace three graduated seniors from last year's team, including three-time Big Sky MVP Tatsiana Kapshai at No. 1 singles.
Last year, despite playing every match with four or five freshmen in the primary lineup, the men’s squad posted a 7-1 conference record while winning the Big Sky Tournament championship.
In fact, since joining the league in 1996-97, the men's team has won 10 Big Sky regular season titles (1998-99, 2001-03, 2007-11), 10 tournament championships (1998-99, 2001-03, 2007, 2009-12) and have made nine NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2001-03, 2007, 2009-12).
This year, Sacramento State returns all but one player from last year’s singles lineup, including first team all-conference selections Aliaksandr Malko and Marek Marksoo. Malko and Marksoo finished last year as the team’s Nos. 1 and 2 singles players, respectively, and will be joined by fellow lineup returners Sean Kolar (No. 4), Roy Brandys (No. 5) and Tom Miller (No. 6).
Of the current 11-man men’s roster, eight players are returning.
