The Sacramento State women’s tennis team whacked Pacific at home Saturday, upping their record to 4-3 on the season.

Despite junior standout Margarita Karnaukhova’s first singles loss of this young season, the team came away with a 4-3 win, serving the previously untouched Tigers their first loss.

It was a perfect setting for tennis at the Rio Del Oro Racquet Club. Playing on a single day’s rest after a troad loss to No. 1 Stanford the previous Thursday, the sunny skies seemed to refresh the Hornets, who swept the doubles matches and earned what would turn out to be a crucial team point.

At the pole position, Margarita Karnaukhova and Anna Karaveyeva dropped Vana Mrazovic and Katharina Heil, 8-4. At the two spot, Anna Erikson and freshman Klara Petersson burned Natalia Kostenko and Viktoria Szendrei 8-2. Roberta Fessenko and Cecilia Helland took out Katharina Trumpf and Anja Herrmann 8-4 at the three to complete the sweep.

It seemed that singles play had just begun before Hornet sophomore Cecilia Helland strode off the court, handling Viktoria Szendrei 6-1, 6-0 at the six spot and improving to 6-1 on the year. Anna Karaveyeva would do the same at the five, ousting Herrman 6-3, 6-4, which put the Hornets atop the team board, 3-0.

At the two, No. 61 ranked Anna Erikson spanked Heil 6-1, 6-4. The gutsy sophomore has been playing through a recurring hip flexor injury, although that didn’t stop her from delivering her flying forehands.

“Running so much, it’s getting worse,” Erikson said. “It is up and down in the tough matches, it hurts.”

Coach Bill Campbell also expressed some concern, saying “It’s going to be a challenge, but we’re going to rest her quite a bit. She’s had it all season, and it’s been very difficult … the pain just comes on her all of a sudden.”

Although the Hornets had already clinched at 4-0 in the match, Pacific had no plans of giving in.

In succession, No. 17-ranked Margarita Karnaukhova fell to Mrazovic 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 at the one spot; Klara Petersson was edged by Trumpf in the super-tiebreaker 4-6, 7-5, (10-8) at the four; and finally, Roberta Fessenko submitted to Kostenko 6-7, 7-5, (10-5) in the super-tiebreaker at the three spot.

“I was fairly concerned with playing Stanford on Thursday, then trying to come back and keep them highly motivated. Some of the girls really stepped forward today, and that won the match for us,” Campbell said.

Karnahkhova, or ‘Rita’ as she’s called by teammates, was feeling fatigued following her match on short rest, but credited her opponent with perseverance.

“I was obviously very tired, and trying to do my best, playing with what I had under the conditions,” she said. “She was a very good runner and got to a lot of balls…consistent, very consistent…her strategy was to make me hit as many balls as she could because I was running out of energy.

“I could feel that she saw me kind of walking all tired.”

It marked her first singles loss of the season, putting her at 6-1 on the year. But Karnaukhova seemed to take it in stride, adding, “You have to move on, you can’t just give up.”

And that’s just what the Hornets will do this Sunday, hosting a rare double-header against Long Beach State in the morning match, then Hawaii that afternoon.

With a week of rest this time around opponents beware.