WOMEN'S TENNIS EARNS EIGHTH STRAIGHT REGULAR SEASON TITLE WITH 7-0 VICTORY OVER MONTANA

4/5/2009

GOLD RIVER, Calif. - The No. 50 ranked Sacramento State women's tennis team earned its eighth straight Big Sky Conference regular season title with a 7-0 victory over Montana on Sunday, April 5 at Rio Del Oro Racquet Club.

With the victory, the Hornets improve to 15-8 overall and 8-0 in Big Sky play, winning their 60th straight match against conference competition, while the Grizzlies fall to 6-10, 2-3 in the Big Sky.

Sacramento State swept the doubles action to secure the matches first point, led by the No. 78 combination of sophomore Melissa Valenzuela and junior Katrina Zheltova, who posted an 8-1 victory over Martyna Nowak and Liz Walker at No. 1 doubles. At the No. 2 position, redshirt freshman Clarisse Baca and senior Joyce Martinez Gutierrez took down Amanda and Rebecca Bran, 8-2, while freshman Maria Meliuk and junior Aileen Tsan posted an 8-3 victory at No. 3 doubles over Cara Lehman and Kayla Moyse.

In singles action, the Hornets were victorious in all six matches to take home the 7-0 victory, with three matches ending in 6-0, 6-0 fashion. 2008 All-American and No. 110 ranked Zheltova started the singles sweep with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Walker at the No. 1 position. Tsan followed that up with a 6-0, 6-0, victory of her own at the No. 5 position over Moyse, and Martinez Gutierrez clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Lauren Gibson at the No. 6 position.

Rounding out the singles competition, Baca posted a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Nowak at the No. 4 position, and was followed by Meliuk, who withheld a first set charge to defeat Rebecca Bran 7-5, 6-0. Valenzuela closed things out with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Amanda Bran at the No. 3 position.

The Hornets will return to action on Friday, April 10 when they travel to rival UC Davis in a pivotal Causeway Cup matchup at 2 p.m.

#50 Sacramento State 7, Montana 0
Apr 05, 2009 at Gold River, Calif. (Rio Del Oro Racquet Club)

Singles competition
1. #110 ZHELTOVA, Katrina (SAC) def. WALKER, Liz (UM) 6-0, 6-0
2. MELIUK, Maria (SAC) def. BRAN, Rebecca (UM) 7-5, 6-0
3. VALENZUELA, Melissa (SAC) def. BRAN, Amanda (UM) 6-2, 6-2
4. BACA, Clarisse (SAC) def. NOWAK, Martyna (UM) 6-2, 6-1
5. TSAN, Aileen (SAC) def. MOYSE, Kayla (UM) 6-0, 6-0
6. MARTINEZ, Joyce (SAC) def. GIBSON, Lauren (UM) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. VALENZUELA, Melissa/ZHELTOVA, Katrina (SAC) def. NOWAK, Martyna/WALKER, Liz (UM) 8-1
2. BACA, Clarisse/MARTINEZ, Joyce (SAC) def. BRAN, Amanda/BRAN, Rebecca (UM) 8-2
3. MELIUK, Maria/TSAN, Aileen (SAC) def. LEHMAN, Cara/MOYSE, Kayla (UM) 8-3

Match Notes
Montana 6-10 (2-3 BSC)
Sacramento State 15-8 (8-0 BSC); National ranking #50
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,5,6,4,2,3)