This Friday the Sacramento State women’s tennis team will fly to Phoenix for the start of the Big Sky Conference women’s tennis tournament.

– Heavily favored, the team will also take an impressive 23-match conference winning streak with them, a 6-0 record against conference opponents this year, and a season in which the Hornets dropped not one set to a Big Sky rival.-

Ironically, while a win at the tournament would garner them a coveted NCAA tournament berth, the fact that the team plays in the Big Sky at all has actually hindered its climb up the national ladder.

The first problem is that Big Sky schools present a travel challenge.

Located in Montana, Arizona, Washington, Idaho and Utah, the Big Sky conference schedule racks up the frequent flyer miles for coach Bill Campbell.-

“I don’t mind having to play the other Big Sky schools, but I’d rather not have to play them twice,” Campbell said.-“If we didn’t have to play them in the regular season and just got to play in the tournament, things would work out much better for us.”

So why don’t the Big Sky schools want to let the Hornets have their way?

“The argument against it is that it’s difficult for some of the schools to get a full schedule of matches, and it’s very difficult for them to get home matches,” Campbell said. “So this way they’re guaranteed at least three or four home matches, and they like to have that.

“From our standpoint, we’re situated a little differently because there’s so many tennis schools in Northern California. In the past, we’ve played Santa Clara and San Jose State, but we don’t play them anymore because we have to substitute those for Big Sky matches.”

Secondly, outside of Sacramento State, the Big Sky does not boast another nationally-ranked team, and the only way for the Hornets to improve their national ranking is to take down other ranked opponents.-

But with several Big Sky matches a year, the opportunities for scheduling ranked schools are fewer.

“Part of the challenge to that is that when you’re trying to move up the rankings, the schools that have been historically ranked for a long time, they make you come there,” Campbell said. “And unless you start to beat them fairly regularly, they don’t want to come here, because it’s to their advantage to play on their home court. So they really want you to earn the right to play them.-

“Basically, it’s all about respect and you have to earn it.”

But the team and its coach know that regardless of these problems, the Big Sky tournament presents them with the stepping stone needed to make the NCAA tournament. The team lost to Fresno State in the NCAA tournament last year, but is primed for a strong run this year.

– “Whoever wins the conference tournament goes to the NCAA (tournament),” Campbell said. “And that’s what it’s all about.”

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Josh Terrell can be reached at [email protected]