NO. 49 WOMEN'S TENNIS CLOSES OUT REGULAR SEASON WITH 6-1 TRIUMPH OVER PACIFIC

4/11/2009

GOLD RIVER, Calif. - The No. 49 ranked Sacramento State women's tennis team cruised to a 6-1 victory over Pacific on Saturday, April 11 at the Rio Del Oro Racquet Club.

With the victory, the Hornets improve to 17-8 on the season, while the Tigers fall to 8-13.

The doubles point was hotly contested to open the match, as after the No. 78 ranked duo of sophomore Melissa Valenzuela and junior Katrina Zheltova defeated Olga Gumenyuk and Jenifer Widjaja at the No. 1 position, 8-2, Pacific tied the doubles match at 1-1 with a victory at No. 2 doubles. The Hornets No. 3 tandem of freshman Maria Meliuk and junior Aileen Tsan came through in the clutch, however, clinching the point with an 8-4 triumph over Kateryna Nezhura and Svenja Arens to give Sacramento State the doubles point and a 1-0 lead.

The Hornets made the lead 2-0 quickly, as senior Joyce Martinez Gutierrez, playing in her final regular season matchup in the Green and Gold, dispatching of Olga Gumneyuk 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 singles. Pacific then pulled to within one at 2-1, as Meliuk was forced to retire in her No. 2 singles encounter with Jolanta Twarowska.

From there, however, the match was all Sacramento State, as the Hornets won the remaining four matches contested to take home the 6-1 victory.

Senior Luba Schifris, also playing in her final home regular season contest, was next to finish with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Kateryna Nezhura at No. 4 singles, and junior All-American Katrina Zheltova clinched the match for the Hornets, defeating No. 84 ranked Widjaja 6-3, 6-2.

Redshirt freshman Clarisse Baca was also victorious, posting a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Clara Schuhmacher at the No. 5 position, and Valenzuela finished out the match with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Svenja Arens at No. 3 singles.

The Hornets will have two weeks off before hosting the Big Sky Tournament at Rio Del Oro, April 24-26. As the number one seed, As the No. 1 seed, Sacramento State will have a bye into Saturday's semifinals, where they will face the lowest remaining seed. Sacramento State has won 60 straight matches over conference competition dating back to 2002.


No. 49 Sacramento State 6, Pacific 1
Rio Del Oro Racquet Club (Gold River, Calif.)

SINGLES
1. No. 110 Katrina Zheltova (SAC) def. No. 84 Jenifer Widjaja (PAC), 6-3, 6-2
2. Jolanta Twarowska (PAC) def. Maria Meliuk (SAC), 6-0, ret.
3. Melissa Valenzuela (SAC) def. Svenja Arens (PAC), 6-3, 6-2
4. Luba Schifris (SAC) def. Kateryna Nezhura (PAC), 6-0, 6-3
5. Clarisse Baca (SAC) def. Clara Schuhmacher (PAC), 6-3, 6-1
6. Joyce Martinez (SAC) def. Olga Gumenyuk (PAC), 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 2, 4, 1, 5, 3

DOUBLES
1. No. 78 Katrina Zheltova/Melissa Valenzuela (SAC) def. Olga Gumenyuk/Jenifer Widjaja (PAC), 8-2
2. Jolanta Twarowska/Sasha Fisher (PAC) def. Joyce Martinez/Clarisse Baca (SAC), 8-5
3. Maria Meliuk/Aileen Tsan (SAC) def. Kateryna Nezhura/Svenja Arens (PAC), 8-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3