The Sacramento State men?s tennis team snapped a four-match losing streak with authority Saturday when they traveled to Moraga and defeated the Gaels of St. Mary?s College, 6-1.

The losing streak, while it did not cause the team to panic, was beginning to get a little frustrating.

“We didn?t stress, but we realized it was time to start getting some wins,” Hornet assistant coach Damon Coupe said.

Coupe said the biggest difference this week was the team?s preparation.

“All year long, our goal has been to win the conference. The guys have started to focus on that and that will be our focus for the next three weeks,” Coupe said.

For the first time in four matches, Sac State won the doubles point when the No. 2 team of senior Fabio Jesus and freshman Peter Farkas, as well as the No. 3 team of sophomore Nick Sheehan and senior Josh Price, each won their matches, 8-6 and 8-5 respectively.

“The doubles point is very important as far as momentum going into singles play,” Coupe said. The difference between having to win three singles matches and four singles matches is huge.”

The lone loss in singles play came at the expense of freshman Matthew Jones, who was defeated 7-6 (7-4) and 6-2.

Coupe believes that even though Jones has had it rough lately, he will be a major factor in the team?s success in the future.

“Even though he?s got some losses, Matt is playing really well right now,” Coupe said. “If you?re playing well and you still get beat, there?s nothing you can do about that.

“Matt?s got a lot of fire, a lot of talent, and as he gets older and learns the game more, he can definitely be one of the leaders on this team.”

Despite only losing one point in the entire match, things were not as easy as they looked on paper.

Sac State?s No. 1 player, senior Sherif Zaher, posted a decisive 6-0 win in the third set of his match, but not before losing the second set 6-4. Freshman Ali Abbou lost the first set of his match, but came back to win the next two sets 6-4, (13-11).

“We went in expecting to win,” Coupe said. “But I think our team had lost the winning feeling. Sometimes you just forget how to win. This is a big confidence booster before (NCAA) Regionals.”

With Saturday?s win, the Hornets continued a season-long trend of winning big and losing big. Earlier this season, Hornets coach Chris Evers could only describe the phenomenon as, “awkward.”

With only one match left before the regional tournament, Coupe took his turn trying to explain it.

“We have a young team. These guys have fought hard and we?ve played some high-caliber schools,” Coupe said. “Some of these guys aren?t used to playing with the added pressure that comes with being on a team. As they develop, they will learn how to deal with it.”

Next week, the Hornets go back out on the road to face University of the Pacific.

Coupe believes the team will be ready.

“UOP is going to be tough. We just want to concentrate on getting the win. We have set a realistic goal for ourselves,” Coupe said. “We want to go undefeated for the rest of the year, including the regional and conference tournaments. That will give us a berth in the NCAA tournament.”

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