With winter in full blast, the Sacramento State men’s and women’s tennis teams get ready to start their seasons. Both squads were both unanimously picked to repeat as Big Sky Conference champions in the coaches preseason poll.

The women’s team is looking to win its ninth consecutive conference title while the men’s team hopes to win its third conference title in four years.

In his 11th year as director of tennis for the Hornets, Bill Campbell said the preseason honor is nice, but Sac State has bigger goals to achieve this season.

“Both teams want to win the conference, there is no question about that,” Campbell said. “But their main goal is to get beyond the second round of the NCAA Tournament and see how far we can make it.”

In his third season at the helm of the women’s team, Dima Hrynashka said it is an honor to have both teams ranked atop the conference’s preseason polls.

“Everyone saw that over the last few years, we have been one of the strongest teams in the country,” he said.

Weber State’s women’s head coach Jonas Ehrlin said what makes the Hornets so good are the depth they have.

“They do not have a real weakness,” Ehrlin said. “That is why they are so difficult to play against. They have so many good players.”Ehrlin pointed out senior Katrina Zheltova as someone who gives other teams around the country fits.

Sophomore Clarisse Baca said she expects Zheltova will have a big season.

“Katrina is rated 26th in the nation in the singles category,” Baca said. “She is in shape and she’s been working really hard.”

The women’s team has won 62-consecutive conference matches. Baca said the reason for the long winning streak is because of the Hornets’ determination.

“We fight hard in every match and every game,” Baca said. “We never give up.”

Baca said each team has a good mixture of returning players and incoming freshmen.

“Maria Meliuk, and of course Katrina Zheltova, are our best players,” Baca said. “Dana Nazarova is our new recruit. She is going to be really good, so if we can put all the parts together, we are going to be a great team.”

Sophomore Jimmy Roberts said the team’s success is owed in part to its fitness regimen.

“We do a lot of fitness drills, we have a pretty tough fitness test we take and routine that we do every day,” said sophomore Jimmy Roberts. “Our practices are really hard.”

Sophomore Jason Smith and senior Anton Stryhas are the leaders of the men’s team.

Smith said the Hornets must have a total team effort if Sac State is going to succeed.

“Everyone must play well; it’s not just one person. If one person does not perform well it is like a trickle down effect,” he said. “We need everybody to play well.”

Smith and the rest of the squad hope freshmen George Anastopoulos, Nick Gwerder and Nathan Wells can make an immediate impact.

Wells said he just wants to do what the team asks of him and not try to do too much.

“I need to work hard all season and see where that gets me,” he said.

Portland State’s men’s and women’s head coach Brian Parrott said one the biggest keys to Sac State’s success is the Hornets’ ability to keep bringing in new talent.

“Excellent recruiting and great coaching has made Sacramento State such a strong program,” he said.

Aside from Zheltova, the women’s team lacks a little bit of leadership. Baca said she is ready to become one of the leaders for the Hornets.

“I would like to win the most matches as possible for the team,” she said. “I like the spirit of this team. I am a fighter and want to give up everything for the team.”

Campbell said both teams’ non-conference schedule will determine if the season is successful for the Hornets, as the men have already played No. 9 Stanford and will play No. 25 Oklahoma State University later in the season.

Campbell said Sac State has a difficult time scheduling top-notch opponents because other universities are not willing to take on the Hornets on their home court.

“Both teams play really strong schedules and a lot of ranked teams so the Big Sky teams are not the toughest teams by far on the schedule,” he said. “Almost all ranked teams we have to play on the road, they are not willing to come out and play us in Sacramento. It is a disadvantage for our team but that’s just the way it is.”

Roberts said the men’s team is going to approach every match with the same intensity.

“We start off the season with a tough schedule,” Roberts said. “We are going to approach every match like we are facing a top-10 team like Stanford so that we don’t stumble against a lesser opponent.”

Hrynashka said February will be a tough month for the women’s team, as they play two top-25 teams in No. 13 Stanford amd No. 24 University of Washington. The women also take on No. 3 Cal in March.

Campbell said each team feeds off of the others success.

“Both teams have some really talented athletes, the young people on this team are really dedicated to working hard and they have no interest in taking second,” he said. “The girls want to keep the match streak alive and see how long we can keep this going, while the men want to get to that point so there is a rivalry between the two teams.”

Even with the 62-match winning streak in conference play, Hrynashka said he sees areas where his team can improve.

“I would like us to improve our doubles play,” he said. “From what I saw in the preseason, we definitely need to work on that.”

Baca said she is worried about things beyond the team’s control which will hurt Sac State.

“Our weakness in the past has been bad luck,” Baca said. “A lot of players have been injured or have been ill at key points in the season.”

Baca said the women’s team has high expectations for itself.

“We like to dream big and keep our goals high. The higher the goal is, the higher the achievement can be,” Baca said. “It is not overconfidence; we just believe in ourselves.”

Smith said the men’s team understands conference play is going to be hard no matter the other team’s record.

“We have to take it one match at a time and don’t look ahead,” he said. “We cannot look forward to the future, we must stay in the present.”

The Hornets may be worried about injuries, the schedule and just bad luck, but Sac State is not worried about either team being overconfident.

“We want to win the NCAA championship and when you have that goal in mind, there is not much complacency on anybody’s mind,” Campbell said.

Andrew Hazard can be reached at [email protected]