For the Sacramento State men?s tennis team, the trend of winning and losing big continued as they rebounded from a 6-0 drubbing by Texas Tech University last week to sweep the University of Nevada 7-0 at the Broadstone Racquet Club last Friday.

Sac State?s three wins this season have each ended in 7-0 shutouts, but it was outscored 6-1, 7-0, and 6-0 in their three losses.

“I don?t know why that is,” Hornet coach Chris Evers said. “It?s awkward and I?ve never experienced that before, but we?re either getting blown out or we?re blowing teams out.”

Senior Sherif Zaher was the only Hornet to lose a set against Nevada. He came back to win his match against Chad Stoloff 2-6, 7-5, and 6-3. Last week against Texas Tech, he was the only Hornet to win a set.

“Sherif is a team player,” Evers said. “He tends to play according to how the team is playing.”

The team, as it turns out, played extremely well. Senior Fabio Jesus, Sac State?s No. 2 player rolled to a straight-set win against Rudolf Leuschner, and freshman Matthew Jones had a short match as his opponent, Daniel Ericsson, because of a hamstring injury early in the second set.

Freshman Ali Abbou, Peter Farkas and sophomore Nick Sheehan also won in straight sets. Sac State won all three doubles matchups as well.

“We were definitely the stronger team,” Evers said.

Assistant coach Damon Coupe echoed his sentiments.

“We?ve played a lot of tough schools early in the season,” Coupe said. “Overall, we?re pretty happy with how the team is playing.”

This season will definitely be an experience for the team, if it has not been already. Most of it takes place away from the comforts of home as the Hornets will endure what they call their “road year.”

“They?re young, but they?re learning how to play close matches and how to dig down and fight,” Coupe said. “For the most part they react well to things and everyone takes something from every match that helps their experience.”

The brutal schedule included a four-match trip to the Pacific Northwest, and sends the team on a five-match trip to Oregon and Utah followed by a match at the University of the Pacific. Then, the Hornets have a four-match homestand before hitting the road again for the Big Sky Conference regional and championship meets in April.

The coaches admit that traveling can be hard on the team from a physical standpoint, but refuse to use the schedule as an excuse for the team to perform poorly.

“Everybody has to travel, and every other team plays tough matches. (The home teams) have the advantage, but we can steal some matches,” Evers said. “The guys just have to believe in themselves and believe they can win.”

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