Baker and But were the 11th-ranked doubles team in the nation and extended their winning streak to eight-consecutive matches dating back to the regular season. Baker and But will advance to the second round of the tournament while Karnaukhova and Lyssenko were eliminated.

Karnaukhova and Lyssenko earned the Big Sky Conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament as the league’s top doubles team. This year also marked the first time in school history that Sacramento State was represented in the NCAA Doubles Tournament. Karnaukhova represented the Hornets in the NCAA Singles Championships for the third-straight year, but fell in three sets to 30th-ranked Catrina Thompson of Notre Dame yesterday.

The match brings closure to a 2006 season in which Sacramento State posted a 14-8 dual-match record and won its fifth-consecutive Big Sky championship. In fact, the Hornets have won 34-consecutive matches against Big Sky opposition, a streak which dates back to 2002.

Battling a back injury throughout the season, Karnaukhova became the first student-athlete in the 43-year history of the Big Sky 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 tenure at Sacramento State, and never lost a Big Sky Conference match.

Karnaukhova and Lyssenko teamed to post an 8-7 record at No. 1 doubles for the Hornets this year. Lyssenko, who is a freshman from Rostov-on-Don, Russia, also recorded a 7-7 record in singles play. She played at least one match at Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 singles during the season.

Sacramento State, which is currently ranked 60th in the nation, won the Big Sky title despite a roster which featured six freshmen, one junior and one senior.