Both Xavier Barajas-Smith and Anton Stryhas will do something never before done by a Sacramento State men’s tennis player. The two will compete in the All-American Tennis Championships in Tulsa, Okla., beginning on Saturday.

The event displays the talents of the top collegiate tennis players in the country, and in this case, the world. Stryhas is a native of Belarus and was attracted to Sac State because of head coach, and fellow Belarusian, Slava Konikov.

“I know the coaches from my country and they told me it’s a nice place to play,” Stryhas said. “I really like the weather.” The news that he would be competing in the championships came soon after Stryhas set foot in the U.S. for the first time.

Barajas-Smith comes in as a freshman after graduating from El Diamante High School in Visalia, CA. While there Barajas-Smith was ranked first in Northern California and fourth in the nation in the under-18 category by the United States Tennis Association (USTA). He too was attracted to Sac State because of the coaching.

Women’s tennis head coach Bill Campbell knew of Barajas-Smith for a long time. He had played at Campbell’s tennis clubs since he was little. Campbell recalled the whirlwind signing of Barajas-Smith.

“I got an e-mail from his dad showing interest in attending Sac State,” Campbell said. “They brought him up for a meeting and it went well. It happened very fast.”

Most if not all schools had their sights set on Barajas-Smith, ranging from BYU, Fresno State, UOP and Santa Barbara.Both players took the news of their inclusion into the championships as a pleasant surprise.

“I found out on Friday morning that I made it and I was very glad,” Stryhas said. “It was very good news.” Barajas-Smith echoed those sentiments saying, “I feel privileged to be there with so many great players.”

The pre-qualifying round of the event takes place from Sep. 30 – Oct. 1. Sixteen players advance from pre-qualifying to the qualifying round. Finally, 16 players from the qualifying round will be placed in the main draw, which runs from Oct. 5-8.Campbell said that he would not be surprised if Barajas-Smith made it all the way into the main draw.

“He will be one of the better players in the country,” Campbell said. “He has the potential to eventually be an NCAA champion.”

Benn Hodapp can be reached at [email protected]