MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS HOSTS BIG SKY TOURNAMENT THIS FRIDAY-SUNDAY

4/21/2009

For the third straight year, the Sacramento State men’s and women’s tennis programs will host the Big Sky Conference Tournament this Friday-Sunday, April 24-26, at the Gold River Racquet Club in Gold River, Calif. The Hornet men and women both won the league’s regular season title and have earned the No. 1 seed for the tournament. Sacramento State’s men’s squad hosts Montana State this Thursday, April 23, in both team’s final regular season matchup of the season, but the Hornets will be the No. 1 seed regardless of that outcome.
   
Sacramento State’s women’s team (17-8, 8-0) will attempt to win its eighth consecutive Big Sky Tournament championship while the men’s team (16-6, 7-0) will attempt to win its seventh tournament title in the last 12 years. The winner of the Big Sky Tournament receives the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament (first and second rounds take place May 8-10). The Hornet men (1999, 2001-03, 2007) and women (2002-08) have combined to make 12 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1999.
   
The men’s tournament will begin on Friday at 10 a.m. with a pair of quarterfinal matches. The women’s tournament also begins on Friday, with two quarterfinal matches taking place at 2 p.m. By virtue of having the No. 1 seed, both Sacramento State’s men’s and women’s teams will receive a first round bye, with the men playing their semifinal match against the lowest remaining seed at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The Hornet women will take on the lowest remaining seed on Saturday at 2 p.m. The men’s championship match will take place at 10 a.m. on Sunday while the women’s title match will be at 2 p.m.
   
Admission is free to all matches.

A LOOK AT THE TOURNAMENT FIELD

The Big Sky Tournament features the top six teams in the nine-member league. Half of the seeds for the men’s tournament have yet to be determined as the outcome of Thursday’s Sacramento State-Montana State match will affect the order of the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 seeds. What is known is that Sacramento State is the No. 1 seed, Eastern Washington (17-8, 6-2) is the No. 2 seed and Montana (10-8, 4-4) is the No. 6 seed. Should the Hornets beat the Bobcats on Thursday, Northern Arizona (7-16, 5-3) would get the No. 3 seed, Weber State (9-10, 5-3) the No. 4, and Montana State (13-9, 5-2) the No. 5 seed. Should Montana State beat Sacramento State, Montana State would earn the No. 3, followed by Northern Arizona (No. 4) and Weber State (No. 5). Portland State, Northern Colorado and Idaho State did not qualify for the men’s tournament. By virtue of owning the top two seeds, both Sacramento State and Eastern Washington will receive a first round bye in the single elimination tournament.
   
The seeds for the women’s tournament are as follows: No. 1 Sacramento State (17-8, 8-0), No. 2 Montana State (11-8, 7-1), No. 3 Northern Arizona (11-9, 6-2), No. 4 Northern Colorado (5-14, 4-4), No. 5 Eastern Washington (8-14, 4-4) and No. 6 Montana (8-12, 4-4). Weber State, Portland State and Idaho State did not qualify for the women’s tournament. Sacramento State and Montana State will both receive first-round byes.
   
In the men’s bracket on Friday, the No. 3 seed (Montana State or Northern Arizona) and Montana will square off in one quarterfinal match at 10 a.m., while the No. 4 seed (Northern Arizona or Weber State) and No. 5 seed (Weber State or Montana State) will play in the other quarterfinal at 10 a.m. In the semifinals on Saturday, Sacramento State will face the lowest remaining seed, and Eastern Washington will take on the highest remaining seed at 10 a.m. The winner of the two semifinal matches will play for the conference championship and the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 10 a.m.
   
In the women’s bracket on Friday, Northern Arizona and Montana will square off in one quarterfinal match at 2 p.m., while Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington will play in the other quarterfinal at 2 p.m. In the semifinals on Saturday, Sacramento State will face the lowest remaining seed and Montana State will take on the highest remaining seed at 2 p.m. The winner of the two semifinal matches will play for the conference championship and the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 2 p.m.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Friday, April 24
10 a.m. Men’s Quarterfinals
No. 3 Seed (Montana State or Northern Arizona) vs. No. 6 Montana (10-8, 4-4)
No. 4 Seed (Northern Arizona or Weber State) vs. No. 5 Seed (Montana State or Weber State)
2 p.m. Women’s Quarterfinals
No. 3 Northern Arizona (11-9, 6-2) vs. No. 6 Montana (8-12, 4-4)
No. 4 Northern Colorado (5-14, 4-4) vs. No. 5 Eastern Washington (8-14, 4-4)

Saturday, April 25
10 a.m. Men’s Semifinals
No. 2 Eastern Washington (17-8, 6-2) vs. Highest Remaining Seed
No. 1 Sacramento State (16-6, 7-0) vs. Lowest Remaining Seed
2 p.m. Women’s Semifinals
No. 2 Montana State (11-8, 7-1) vs. Highest Remaining Seed
No. 1 Sacramento State (17-8, 8-0) vs. Lowest Remaining Seed

Sunday, April 26
10 a.m. Men’s Final
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2
2 p.m. Women’s Final
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2

A LOOK AT THE SACRAMENTO STATE WOMEN’S TEAM 

You would be hard pressed to find a team in any sport within the Big Sky Conference that has been more dominant the last eight years than the Sacramento State women’s tennis team. Since 2002, the women have won 60 straight matches over Big Sky competition, a streak which includes regular season and tournament matches. This year, the Hornets outscored conference opposition by a score of 56-0, posting 7-0 victories in all eight matches. In addition, Sacramento State has accumulated six Big Sky Player of the Week awards, including four from freshman Maria Meliuk.
  
The team, which is currently 17-8 overall and 8-0 in the Big Sky, has won each of the last seven Big Sky championships and has advanced to the NCAA Tournament each of those years, a streak which began in 2002. A Sacramento State player has earned Big Sky Most Valuable Player honors each of the last six years, including junior Katrina Zheltova, who earned the award the last two years.
   
Zheltova, who was also an All-American last season, has battled injuries the majority of this year, but still managed to post a 10-4 record as the Hornets’ No. 1 singles player. She has won each of her last five singles matches, and is currently ranked 95th in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
   
Sacramento State’s singles lineup consists of Zheltova (No. 1), Meliuk (No. 2), sophomore Melissa Valenzuela (No. 3), senior Luba Schifris (No. 4), freshman Clarisse Baca (No. 5) and senior Joyce Martinez Gutierrez (No. 6). Junior Aileen Tsan has also played 19 matches in the team’s top six. Dual-match singles records for each player is as follows: Zheltova (10-4), Meliuk (15-6), Valenzuela (14-6), Schifris (13-6), Baca (18-6), Martinez (15-6) and Tsan (7-12).
   
The team has combined to go 48-24 in doubles play, including a 16-5 mark from the combination of Meliuk/Tsan, 16-6 from the combination of Baca/Martinez, and 10-2 from the combination of Zheltova/Valenzuela.

A LOOK AT THE SACRAMENTO STATE MEN’S TEAM
 
The Sacramento State men (16-6, 7-0) enter the week as winners of 15 of their last 17 matches. The Hornets will host Montana State in the team’s final regular season match of the season this Thursday, April 23, at 1 p.m., at the Rio Del Oro Racquet Club Sacramento State has oustscored its seven Big Sky opponents this season by a combined score of 44-2, as Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado were the only two conference teams to earn a point against the Hornets. Dating back to the 2006 season, the Hornets have won 23 straight regular season matches against Big Sky competition.
   
All of this comes despite the Hornets’ roster featuring no seniors, and four of the team’s top six singles players are underclassmen. In fact, the team’s singles lineup features two juniors (No. 2 Anton Stryhas and No. 4 Holden Ching), three sophomores (No. 1 Kiryl Harbatsiuk, No. 5 Marko Starcevic and No. 6 Artur Klimenka) and one freshman (No. 3 Jason Smith).   
   
Since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97, the Hornets have won seven regular season titles (1998-99, 2001-03, 2007-08), six tournament championships (1998-99, 2001-03, 2007) and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times (1999, 2001-03, 2007). The Big Sky champion did not receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament until the 1999 season.
   
This year, the team has been led by the dominant play of the team’s top three singles players. Harbatsiuk (18-4), Stryhas (13-5) and Smith (15-7) have combined for a 46-16 singles record this season while Harbatsiuk enters the week with a seven-match winning streak and Smith has won each of his last eight singles competitions.
   
Dual match records for the remainder of team’s singles lineup are as follows: Ching (11-11), Starcevic (14-8) and Klimenka (10-4). The team has won 44 of its 61 doubles matches, including a 16-5 mark from the tandem of Ching/Starcevic, 14-6 from Harbatsiuk/Stryhas, and 10-3 from Smith/Klimenka.