SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento State junior Sherif Zaher was named

the Big Sky Conference Men's Tennis Most Valuable Player by league

coaches, it was announced by the conference office today.

The Cairo, Egypt, native, who played at both No. 1 singles and No. 1

doubles, earned three conference player of the week awards (including

this week), went undefeated at the conference tournament and guided

the Hornets to their third Big Sky championships in the last four

years.

Zaher won 12 of his final 14 matches and finished the regular season

with a 16-4 singles record. He also teamed with Joseph Gilbert to go

17-3 at No. 1 doubles as the tandem won 14 of their final 15 matches.

Zaher, who was a member of the 1999 Georgia team that won a national

championship before transferring to Sacramento State, won 11 of his

singles matches in straight sets.

The Hornets were victorious in 18 of their final 19 matches of the

regular season and finished the year with a 20-2 record, the best

mark in program history. The team will compete at the NCAA Tournament

for the second time in the last three years, beginning on May 12.

Seedings for the tournament will be released on May 3.