NO. 43 WOMEN'S TENNIS TAKES DOWN PORTLAND AND PORTLAND STATE

3/21/2009

PORTLAND, Ore. - The No. 43 ranked Sacramento State women's tennis team took home a pair of victories on the day, defeating Portland 5-1 and Portland State 7-0, on Saturday, March 21.

With the victories, the Hornets improve to 12-5 on the season, and the win over the Vikings moved Sacramento State's Big Sky record to 5-0. Sacramento State has now won 57 straight matches against conference competition.

The day started with a singles only matchup with the Pilots that saw the Hornets win five of the six matches contested. Redshirt freshman Clarisse Baca had little trouble with Jenna Tanzer at No. 3 singles, winning 6-1, 6-1 in the first match completed on the day. Freshman Maria Meliuk then took down Megan Sporndli, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 1 singles, and was followed by sophomore Melissa Valenzuela, who defeated Stephanie Fuchs at No. 4 singles 6-0, 6-3. Senior Joyce Martinez Gutierrez was a 6-1, 6-4 victor over Anna Gullickson at the No. 5 position, and junior Aileen Tsan rounded out the Hornet victories with a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 triumph over Lacey Pfilbsen at No. 2 singles. The Hornets dropped the decision at No. 6 singles, ending the match with a 5-1 victory on the scoreboard.

Sacramento State then faced conference foe Portland State, and swept the nine matches played to shutout the Vikings. In doubles play, the No. 1 tandem of Martinez Gutierrez and Baca took care of Molly Knox and Anya Dalkin 8-1, while the No. 2 duo of Meliuk and Tsan posted an easy 8-0 victory over Alyssa Ferry and Victoria Bravo. Valenzuela and sophomore Milica Zivanovic posted a 8-1 victory over Kylea Gleason and Caitlin Stocking at No. 3 doubles, giving the Hornets the doubles sweep and a 1-0 lead.

In singles play, the Hornets did not lose a set, and had five sets of the 12 sets end with a 6-0 margin. Providing two of those 6-0 scores was senior Karina Jarlkaganova, who was active for the first time this season. Jarlkaganova, a second team all-Big Sky performer in 2008 who posted a 20-5 mark a season ago, defeated Gleason by the 6-0, 6-0 margin at No. 6 singles. Other Hornets to post 6-0 victories including Meliuk at No. 1 singles (6-1, 6-0), Valenzuela at No. 3 (6-0, 6-1) and Martinez Gutierrez at the No. 4 position (6-1, 6-0).

The Hornets return to action on Friday, March 27 as they travel to take on No. 64 Arizona at 12:30 p.m.


#43 Sacramento State 5, Portland 1
Mar 21, 2009 at Portland, Ore.

Singles competition
1. MELIUK, Maria (SAC) def. SPORNDLI, Megan (POR) 6-3, 6-1
2. TSAN, Aileen (SAC) def. PFLIBSEN, Lacey (POR) 3-6, 7-5, 7-5
3. BACA, Clarisse (SAC) def. TANZER, Jenna (POR) 6-1, 6-1
4. VALENZUELA, Melissa (SAC) def. FUCHS, Stephanie (POR) 6-0, 6-3
5. MARTINEZ, Joyce (SAC) def. GULLICKSON, Anna (POR) 6-1, 6-4
6. DOOLITTLE, Stefanie (POR) def. JARLKAGANOVA, Karina (SAC) 6-1, 6-2


#43 Sacramento State 7, Portland State 0
Mar 21, 2009 at Portland, Ore.

Singles competition
1. MELIUK, Maria (SAC) def. KNOX, Molly (PSU) 6-1, 6-0
2. BACA, Clarisse (SAC) def. FERRY, Alyssa (PSU) 6-1, 6-1
3. VALENZUELA, Melissa (SAC) def. DALKIN, Anya (PSU) 6-0, 6-1
4. MARTINEZ, Joyce (SAC) def. STOCKING, Caitlin (PSU) 6-1, 6-0
5. ZIVANOVIC, Milica (SAC) def. BRAVO, Victoria (PSU) 7-6, 6-2
6. JARLKAGANOVA, Karina (SAC) def. GLEASON, Kylea (PSU) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. BACA, Clarisse/MARTINEZ, Joyce (SAC) def. KNOX, Molly/DALKIN, Anya (PSU) 8-1
2. MELIUK, Maria/TSAN, Aileen (SAC) def. FERRY, Alyssa/BRAVO, Victoria (PSU) 8-0
3. VALENZUELA, Melissa/ZIVANOVIC, Milica (SAC) def. STOCKING, Caitlin/GLEASON, Kylea (PSU) 8-1