With the loss, Karnaukhova, who battled a back injury throughout the season, sees her intercollegiate singles career come to a close. Currently ranked 74th in the nation, Karnaukhova will return to action tomorrow with teammate Anastassia Lyssenko for the first round of the NCAA Doubles Championships.

Karnaukhova, who became the Sacramento State women’s tennis program’s first All-American after reaching the Sweet 16 of the singles championships in 2004, has been limited this season because of a back injury which forced her to miss six matches during the spring, and a large portion of the fall season.

Karnaukhova led from start to finish in the first set, but Thompson won the second and third sets handily to advance to the second round of the tournament. Thompson was the No. 1 singles player for a Notre Dame squad which is currently ranked second in the nation and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Team Championships.

The loss for Karnaukhova marked the first time in three appearances at the NCAA Singles Championships that she failed to advance past the first round. Last season, she fell in the second round, and in 2004, she advanced to the Sweet 16.

Karnaukhova became the first student-athlete in the 43-year history of the Big Sky Conference to earn four-consecutive conference MVP awards. She finished the season with a 10-6 singles record as the Hornets’ top player, and finished her career with a 66-17 mark. She was ranked as high as 14th in the nation during her four-year career at Sacramento State, and never lost a Big Sky Conference match.

Karnaukhova and Lyssenko will face Maryland’s duo of Marianne Baker and Ramona But in the first round of the doubles championships, beginning tomorrow. Start time for the match has yet to be announced.