Sacramento State’s men’s tennis team heads into the toughest section of the NCAA tournament. The eighth seed Oklahoma State Cowboys (17-4) will host the unseeded Hornets (20-5) in the first round on Saturday. The winner of the match will play the winner of Oklahoma and UC Berkeley. UCLA and top-seeded Georgia (26-0) are also in Sac State’s draw.

Sac State emerged from the Big Sky tournament with a 4-0 win against Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington.

Sac State is the lone Big Sky representative in the NCAA field.Sac State has played some of its best tennis late in the season, winning 16 of its last 18 matches.

The Hornets’ first loss in that span and the only match that wasn’t close was against 23rd ranked Boise State. That match was the second of the day and doubles weren’t played.

Coach Slava Konikov doesn’t think there is much of a difference between a top-20 team to a top 10-team. He has more confidence that the team will play better because of recovery time and preparation for its NCAA tournament match.

Junior Hague Van Dillen said he thinks the talent disparity is not that great between Sac State and Oklahoma State.

“When it comes to college tennis, anyone can win,” Van Dillen said.

Sac State has played a few ranked teams this year, while Oklahoma State has played most of its matches against ranked teams.

“We know we’re playing a strong team, while they think they are playing a weak team,” Senior Ramon Perez said.

Freshman standout Anton Stryhas said he doesn’t think there will be any pressure in the tournament because the team has already won the conference, which was the main goal for the season.

The Sac State team is optimistic about playing one of the higher seeds in the tournament. Oklahoma State started the season 15-1, but has lost three of its last five matches.

“I am confident we can come out with the victory,” Van Dillen said.

Stryhas leads the Hornets with a 20-4 record. He has been a steady No. 2 player who makes up for his lack of power in his groundstrokes with consistency and grit.

He said he hopes to play his best tennis against Oklahoma State.

Stryhas has played Oklahoma State’s No. 2 player in Russia and once in September. His opponent, junior Ivan Puchkarov defeated Stryhas 6-2, 6-3 in a tournament in Tulsa. Puchkarov is now 30th in the nation and more seasoned against ranked teams.

“I am looking forward to playing better this time,” Stryhas said.This will mark the second time Stryhas has played against a ranked opponent this season.

Stryhas said he knows he will need to play his best tennis to win in singles, but loves the pressure of big matches and thinks playing against better competition brings out his best effort.

Because of his opponent’s experience, Stryhas said he wants to stay poised and limit his unforced errors. His opponent likes staying back, so Stryhas will try to come into the net and force his opponent into a few errors.

Since Stryhas has also played juniors against three other Oklahoma State players, he can help his teammates out with some of their tendencies. One of the players Stryhas knows is No. 1 Xavier Barajas-Smith’s opponent.

Barajas-Smith will also have a big challenge facing fellow freshman and 23rd ranked player in the nation, Oleksandr Nedovyesov, who holds the highest singles ranking in school history.

Barajas-Smith knows how tough it will be playing against a ranked opponent on its own courts, but also sees it as motivation.

“I think it is better for us to have all those fans cheering against us. You really try harder because you do not want to look bad in front of them,” Barajas-Smith said.

Barajas-Smith wants to control the points by playing more aggressively. He wants to move his opponent around and will hit shots with angles to open up the court.

Barajas-Smith looks at the other player’s scores to keep himself motivated to play harder during his match.

At No. 4, the Hornets are relying heavily on Perez to bring forth his best match against Dmytro Petrov who is 13-1 at No. 4 and 16-2 overall.

“Statistics always say something. If he’s 16-2, he is really in good shape. Ramon’s so good, statistically too, so he shouldn’t be scared,” Stryhas said.

Warwick Foy said he will take all the information he can get from coach Konikov and Stryhas about his Belarusian opponent at No. 5, Artsem Burmistrau.

“Burmistrau has a much better serve, but if Foy can play more consistent, he can have a chance to play three sets,” Konikov said.

The match will start with doubles play, so it will be important for Sac State to build confidence because it will be the first impression the teams makes on Oklahoma State. If Sac State can win the point, it might put some doubt in the Cowboys minds and Sac State will only have to split the singles to take the match.

Perez and Foy exude confidence and are hoping for an early break in doubles. They want to control the match with deep ground strokes and win the points at the net.

They have played together all four years, leading the Hornets in doubles wins this season.

“We are not going to change anything because they are the No. 8 team in the country,” Foy said.

Stryhas and Loredo will face their first ranked team at No. 1 doubles. Oklahoma State’s Byrnes and Nedovyesov are 13-7 and ranked 47th in the nation.

Stryhas said he thinks Oklahoma State’s struggles in doubles are deceiving because the Cowboys have played a far more difficult schedule than Sac State.

Sac State knows that Oklahoma State’s late struggles came against great teams, but nevertheless are going to use it as a positive.

“At the end of the day, they’re still human. There is nothing to be intimidated by,” Foy said. Tyrone Bowman can be reached at [email protected]