Sac State’s women’s tennis team won its fifth consecutive conference championship at the Big Sky Tournament this past weekend in Pocatello, Idaho, downing Montana 4-0 on Friday and rival Northern Arizona by the same score on Saturday. The win grants the Hornets an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

The team could have easily taken a step back this year.

Six raw freshmen made up this year’s eight-person team. No. 1 singles Margarita Karnaukhova played with not one but two bulging discs in her back all season, and No. 2 Luba Schifris dealt with a nagging wrist injury that haunted her from day one, forcing her to slice the ball instead of stroke it with authority. Eventual No. 3 Joyce Martinez Gutierrez missed the first month of the season.

Most importantly, there was no guaranteeing that these eight women from around the globe- Russia, Germany, Mexico, and Sweden- would have what a championship team needs: chemistry.

Instead, these women stood up, together, and became the team Coach Bill Campbell had hoped for.

“I was pleased with how they all reacted to being in it. When your team has won it four years in a row and you’re expected to win the fifth, that’s a little bit of added pressure. They all reacted very well. They’re just a good group, and they’re fun to be around,” Campbell said.

It turns out the toughest foe they would have to face at the tournament was Idaho itself.

“We were playing at 4500 feet, it was about 65 degrees out and the wind was blowing about 20 miles per hour. The ball was bouncing funny,” Campbell said.

The cold may have been the reason why senior Margarita Karnaukhova, named the Big Sky’s MVP for the fourth-straight year and the first student-athlete in the history of the Big Sky to win four MVPs in any sport, dropped the first, and only, set of her career to a conference opponent against Montana.

“Because of her back, it’s very hard for her to warm up in the cold, and she was being extremely cautious at (Montana). She didn’t want to hurt herself,” Campbell said.

Karnaukhova would regroup to take a 3-1 lead in the second set, but her teammates would have her back. Adding to the Hornets doubles-point win earlier, freshmen Karina Jarlkaganova and Anastassia Lyssenko won their singles matches, then junior and first team all-conference member Cecilia Helland secured the deciding fourth point.

The Hornets put the finishing touches on their fifth title Saturday against Northern Arizona, again taking the doubles point. Lyssenko came through again with a win at No. 6, and Karnaukhova easily won her match. This time Gutierrez would clinch it with a victory at No.3.

“We played them during the season, and beat them. Even though there was the altitude, I wouldn’t say there was a problem,” Helland said.

“All the freshman did well for their first time. We have a good team, so we didn’t have problems,” said Gutierrez, who was named to the all-conference first team herself.

The Hornets now turn their attention to the NCAA Tournament, beginning May 12th. The team will learn the seedings and host locations today at 5:30 p.m on ESPN.

“Well, it’s a huge challenge for us because we are (mostly) freshman. But we have a good team, and I think we are prepared for that,” Gutierrez said.

Josh Terrell can be reached at [email protected]