The Sacramento State men’s tennis team had a tough week, dropping two matches over the weekend; a 7-0 loss to Fresno State on Saturday and a 4-3 loss on Sunday to the University of Hawaii at the Rio Del Oro Racquet Club.

According to head coach Sharif Zaher, however, the early losses could be a positive thing. The Hornets started off the week by defeating UC Davis 5-2 on Thursday.

Sac State started strong against Hawaii, winning two of the three doubles matches to earn the doubles point.

Sophomores Matt Jones and Peter Farkas provided some suspense in doubles action by surviving two match points and breaking Hawaii’s serve twice to rally back from 7-5 to take the match 9-7.

The singles play was decided by the experience of the Rainbow Warriors’ seniors. Hornet No. 1 seed Julien Chatelan was defeated by Malino Oda of Hawaii, 6-1, 6-4.

“In the first set, my opponent completely dominated,” Chatelan said. “I played real well in the second set, I should have taken it, but I committed a couple of unforced errors.”

No. 2 seed Matt Jones defeated Justin Menolascino, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2). Junior Nick Sheehan defeated Hawaii’s Francisco Brignole, 6-4, 6-2, bringing his record to 3-1 on the year.

“My game has improved nicely,” Sheehan said. “I am constantly working on my game. After yesterday’s loss my goal is to go undefeated from here on out.”

The Rainbow Warriors came out victorious in the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots.

“I think this loss is a positive for us,” Zaher said. “They (Hawaii) have five seniors on their roster and they know how to win close matches. This match today will go a long way in the development curve for our team, especially our four freshmen.”

The Hornets started Thursday’s match against Davis by taking the doubles point, receiving great performances from Sheehan and Farkas.

They marched to an 8-0 victory over Davis’ Corey Lum and Tim Brown at the No. 3 spot.

The match was then clinched by superb play of freshman Anders Albertsen. He took control of the No. 6 position by stomping his competition, 6-0, 6-0.

Sac State then fell on Saturday to Fresno State 7-0. The Hornets dropped all three doubles matches to the Bulldogs.

Sac State’s record is now 2-2. The Hornets are back on the court again on Saturday as they travel to the University of Santa Clara to play the Broncos. They then turn around and play Saint Mary’s at home at Rio Del Oro on Sunday. The match starts at 2 p.m.