SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For the fourth-consecutive year, the Sacramento State women''s tennis team will appear in the NCAA Tournament, it was announced by the NCAA selection committee today. The Hornets, who earned an automatic berth into the tournament by virtue of winning the Big Sky Conference title for the fourth-consecutive season, will take on BYU in the first round on Friday, May 13.The matchup with the 21st-ranked Cougars marks the first time the two teams have met since the Hornets joined the Div. I ranks in 1991-92. Sacramento State, which is currently ranked 36th in the nation and has a 23-4 overall record, has won eight in a row and 20 of its last 21 matches. BYU won its second-consecutive Mountain West Conference crown and enters the NCAA Tournament with a 21-3 record.
BYU is one of 16 teams hosting a regional in the 64-team field, as the Hornets and Cougars will square off at the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts (Provo, Utah) on May 13 at 10 a.m. MDT. The other first-round matchup features 14th-ranked Baylor (22-5) and Niagara (15-8) at 2 p.m. with the victor in that match facing the winner of BYU/Sacramento State. The second-round match will take place on Saturday, May 14, at 10 a.m.
The Hornets have shut out five-straight opponents and have won by scores of 6-1 or better in seven-consecutive contests. All four of Sacramento State''s losses this year came against ranked opposition as the Hornets are 6-4 against teams currently ranked in the top 75. That includes a 4-3 victory over 25th-ranked Washington in early April. BYU lost a home match to Washington, 7-0, in January.
The Hornets currently have three players ranked nationally for the second time in school history as junior Margarita Karnaukhova (No. 22), and sophomores Anna Erikson (No. 103) and Cecilia Helland (No. 109) have combined for a 66-7 singles record this season.
In the team''s previous three NCAA Tournament appearances, the Hornets lost in the first round to Stanford (2002), USC (2003) and Fresno State (2004). The losses to Stanford and USC came on the road, while the loss to Fresno State was at a neutral site (Berkeley, Calif.).
Sacramento State faced a total of six opponents that made the NCAA Tournament field this year, posting a 3-3 record against those teams. That includes victories over Fresno State, Washington and Long Beach State, and losses to top-seeded Stanford, Pepperdine and Tulane.
