Tyrone BowmanState Hornet

The Sacramento State men’s tennis team was ranked 73rd in the nation on April 3 and is now 17-5 on the season. Despite not losing last week the team lost its ranking due to playing 2-15 Pacific and only winning a close match against San Francisco.

Senior Ramon Perez was upset that Sac State fell out of the polls and wanted to recapture its ranking at Santa Clara.

Unfortunately for Sac State, the team lost 3-4 to 68th ranked Santa Clara. Prior to the Santa Clara match, Sac State had won 14 of 15 matches.

Freshman standouts No. 1 Xavier Barajas-Smith (17-4) and No. 2 Anton Stryhas (19-3) were both victorious against Santa Clara in singles.

Barajas-Smith has played No. 2 once in a while due to illness and because of match up problems. Barajas-Smith plays better tennis against hard-hitters, while he usually struggles with players who are not overpowering, but extend rallies.

Stryhas’ playing style is typical of the game Barajas-Smith despises. Stryhas credits Barajas-Smith to be more talented than him, but thinks he works harder than Barajas-Smith.

“Xavier is solid. He is a perfect No. 1,” Stryhas said.

Stryhas loved the first time the team got a ranking by beating nationally ranked Cal Poly because it gave the team inspiration against better competition.

Sac State has been successful this year because the seniors accepted the talented freshmen as members of the team. They gave the freshman moral support and guidance.”The seniors never say we are worse,” Stryhas said.

Freshman Tim Lantin (15-5) was named Big Sky Player of the Week on April 10th, which made seven of the last eight weeks, a Hornet was honored.

The preseason tournaments helped the freshmen feel more comfortable in transitioning from high school to playing college matches.

“It gave me a taste of what college tennis was like,” Lantin said.

When the team season began, Lantin’s preseason tournament success helped him not fear competing with more experienced players.

Sac State opened the season losing two of its first three matches.

Senior Gabriel Loredo is 17-5 and has been reliable at No. 3 singles. He also plays No. 1 doubles with Stryhas.

The team thinks its success is the biggest surprise of the season.

A freshman and senior playing well together on the court shows the level of team unity.

“Gabo has my back on the court. This guy always does the right things and keeps supporting me in whatever happens,” Stryhas said.

Loredo is the vocalist who gets the doubles team focused to break while Stryhas is more of the strategist.

Seniors Warwick Foy and Ramon Perez have been doubles partners for four years and, this year, their chemistry has led them to a 15-3 record.

Perez has excelled in singles and doubles. His singles record is 12-4 with his only losses incurred by rival UC Davis and three ranked teams.

Perez was sidelined for two weeks due to a foot injury. He suffered three losses in singles and doubles in Sac State’s last two matches.

“If I win in singles, that is a point for sure,” he said. In doubles, two teams have to win the doubles point.

Perez hates losing, but in tennis, sometimes one plays against better competition or has an off day, so it is bound to happen.

Perez’s doubles partner, Foy, has had a rough singles season, which has led him to play both at No. 4 and No. 5.

Foy has a strong mental game. He often has slow starts, which tend to have him fighting back from down a break. “If you are serving well, you are going to play well,” Foy said.

Coach Slava Konikov and Assistant Kevin Kurtz think the doubles are the team’s strength because of how reliable they have been all season.

Sac State’s only losses in doubles were the first match of the season at Oregon and recently at Santa Clara.

Barajas-Smith and Hague Van Dillen usually play together in doubles, while Stryhas and Loredo have predominantly been No. 1 doubles.

“Xavier and Hague complement each other very well, especially with their personalities,” Kurtz said.

Barajas-Smith and Van Dillen struggled early because of their different playing styles.

However, with time, they gained familiarity with one another, winning nine of their last 10 matches and improving to 11-5, including 10-3 at No. 2 doubles.Van Dillen serves and volleys, while Barajas-Smith stays back because he can’t volley well.

“Xavier is the thing Hague is missing,” Stryhas said.

Playing against Boise State and New Mexico has prepared Sac State for the NCAA playoffs, Barajas-Smith said.

Before Sac State heads to the tourney, the team is competing in the Big Sky Championships.

It will take a lot of hard work, focus, and belief in each other, Foy said.

The Hornets have not won the Big Sky tournament since 2003. The undefeated Big Sky champs will host the conference tournament April 27 through 29 at Gold River Racquet Club. Tyrone Bowman can be reached at [email protected]