The best season in Sacramento State women?s tennis history came to an end Friday when No. 2 Stanford University handed the Hornets a 4-0 loss in the first round of the NCAA Championships.

It was the first ever NCAA tournament bid for the Hornets and head coach Bill Campbell knew his players would have their work cut out for them.

“It?s going to be a very tough match for us,” Campbell said. “It?s a good test. We?re definitely not at that level yet.”

Unlike normal matches, in which all contests are played until completion regardless of the score, championship tournament matches end as soon as one team has won the fourth point.

Stanford came into the weekend with a 21-0 all-time record in NCAA first-round matches. They flexed their muscle against the Hornets, winning the first four points.

Stanford won the doubles point by defeating Sac State in two of the three doubles matches. The Cardinals also led in the third doubles match when play was suspended.

Sac State?s No. 1 doubles team of senior Gabriella Lundqvist and junior Marta Gronowicz took on the top-seeded team of Lauren Kalvaria and Gabriela Lastra and were defeated 8-1.

At the No. 2 position, freshman Roberta Fessenko and sophomore Italina Kirknis were shut out 8-0. At No. 3, the team of sophomore Petra Abraham and freshman Amanda Sanches trailed 5-3 to Stanford when the doubles point was clinched by the Cardinal and play was stopped.

“I thought the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams played very well,” Campbell said. “It was actually a very competitive match overall, even though the scores don?t show it.”

Campbell said he was very happy with the way his top three players played in their singles matches as well.

At the No. 1 spot, Kalvaria won the first set 6-2 over Lundqvist and was ahead 2-0 in the second set when play was stopped. At No. 2, Lastra defeated Gronowicz 6-2, 6-1 and at No. 3, Fessenko rallied to trail 5-4 to Lauren Barnikow before play was stopped.

Sac State?s bottom three players did not fare much better. At No. 4, Kirknis lost the first set 6-0 and trailed 5-1 in the second set when play was stopped.

Sac State?s No. 5 and No. 6 players, Sanches and freshman Christina Rivieccio also lost in straight sets.

“I just told the team to be relentless,” Campbell said. “I told them to play every point and to work their way into the match. Some of the girls did that really well.”

After the match, Campbell said his team?s morale wasn?t affected for long.

“These girls have supported each other all year long,” Campbell said. “They go out and compete, and this just shows us what we have to do to get where we want to be. It?s been a great season.”

Indeed, this season has been a great one for the Sac State. In addition to getting their first NCAA tournament bid, the Hornets finished the season at 20-4, the best record in program history, and were undefeated in Big Sky Conference play.

Individually, the Hornets also excelled. Lundqvist and Gronowicz were named to the all-Big Sky first team. Abraham and Sanches were given second team honors. Campbell was named Coach of the Year for the conference.

“Four of our seven starters were selected. Anytime you can do that, it?s very good,” Campbell said. “Of course, it was nice for me to get the Coach of the Year, since it?s voted on by the other coaches.”

As with most coaches, Campbell is not satisfied with just one great season.

He has his eyes on other prizes. Next year, he says his goal is to be in the top 40 or 50 teams.

“We have a very good chance, given the players we have coming back and the ones we are recruiting,” Campbell said. “If I get the players I think I?m getting, we should be 50 to 70 percent stronger than we were this year.”

Campbell has not lost sight of the longer term goals either.

“Within the next few years, I want to be a top 10 team,” Campbell said. “It doesn?t happen overnight, but we?re well on our way.”