A string of seven losses and the dismissal of its best player will not prevent the Sacramento State men’s tennis team from entering this weekend’s Big Sky Conference tournament in Phoenix as the No. 3 seed.

A 9-13 overall record and a 4-2 Big Sky record paved the way to the same tournament in which the Hornets lost to Idaho State in the semifinals last year.

“We still have a bitter taste in our mouths from last year at the Big Sky tournament; it didn’t end up the way we wanted it to, so we still have that bitter taste in our mouths, especially for me, being my last year,” senior Peter Farkas said. “We’ve been working hard just trying to get everything ready for next weekend and just trying to fix the little things and make sure everyone is feeling confident.”

Despite a sometimes-rocky season in which the team lost seven games by a count of 4-3, the Hornets will be well prepared for their first opponent.

When the first round of the tournament begins Thursday, the Hornets will have had an 11-day break from play and plenty of time to prepare for their match-up against Weber State.

“Everyone has been working really hard at practice and hopefully it will pay off at the tournament this weekend,” sophomore Warwick Foy said. “We have a really strong team and a good chance of winning the tournament.”

Toward the middle of the season, things weren’t looking too good for the 4-6 Hornets until a four-game winning streak in the middle of March put them back over .500.

After the March resurgence, April 1 — April Fool’s Day — proved to be no laughing matter for the Hornets.

After a crushing loss to Montana State, coach Sherif Zaher dismissed senior Matt Jones from the team for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Jones was one of two seniors on the team and had played for Sac State for four years. The loss of Jones put the Hornets at a disadvantage, and with him out, the team went on to lose six in a row until finally winning the last game of the season against Montana on April 17.

The tournament, which begins tomorrow at the Phoenix Tennis Center, will feature the top six teams in the Big Sky based on regular season records.

The Hornets have eyes on winning it again, as they did in 2003, when they beat Idaho State in the championship final.

That year the Hornets finished their season with a 9-16 record, and, like this season, had a seven game losing streak.

California ended Sac State’s season in 2003 with a 4-0 win in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

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Armando Botello II can be reached at [email protected]