Sacramento State’s women’s tennis tandem of Anastassia Lyssenko and Aileen Tsan won the doubles title at the Bulldog Tennis Classic in Fresno on Sunday.

The pair took the title in the championship match over Vanessa Heroux and Tinesta Rowe of Fresno State by a score of 8-4.

“It was the first time we ever played together,” Lyssenko said of her pairing with freshman Tsan. “We just tried to support each other and trusted what the coach was teaching us.”

“It was strange playing together for the first time,” Tsan said. “But we were really supportive of each other between points to get through it.”

What the coach has been teaching the team early in practice is the importance of doubles. Associate Head Coach Bill Campbell has been stressing the need for focus on the doubles point early on.

“For the first time in a long time we have great doubles players,” Campbell said. “The new players like to go to the net. We used to have players who liked to just stay on the backline.”

The preseason tournament saw the Hornets exact a bit of revenge on Fresno State, which bumped Sac State from the NCAA Tournament last season. In matches between Sac State and Fresno during the weekend it was the Hornets coming out on top with a head-to-head record of 7-4.

“We were happy because Joyce (Martinez Gutierrez) and Luba (Schifris) lost in the other semifinal to a team from Fresno State,” Lyssenko said.

New head coach Dzmitry Hrynashka was pleased with the team’s play early in the year.

“I think the team played well,” Hrynashka said. “It was good for it being the first tournament.”

Tsan won a consolation singles final in the tournament beating out Heroux head-to-head 3-6, 6-1, 10-6.

“I am so happy to have won the consolation match,” Tsan said. “It is so unbelievable, but I am so tired.”

The rest of the team was not so fortunate in the singles portion of the event. Only one other player, Shifris, got as far as the quarterfinals.

“It was unfortunate because Fresno Pacific’s Jalena Pandzic was kicked out of the NCAA for earning money as a pro,” Campbell said. “Now she is part of the NAIA which has no rules, so she can play while earning money.”

Pandzic, the No. 1 player in the singles draw, defeated Sac State’s Cecilia Helland in the round of 16 as well as Schifris in the quarterfinals.

Benn Hodapp can be reached at [email protected]