Sacramento State’s men’s and women’s tennis teams both took home a share of their respective Big Sky Conference titles, ending decade-long title droughts for each program.
Women’s Tennis
The women’s team clinched their share of the regular season title after a sweep over Portland State to improve their record to 17-7 and 6-2 in the conference, on Saturday.
Sac State women’s tennis head coach Sophie Breault said winning the title has been the most special moment of her career.
“We’ve been working for this the last three years,” Breault said. “It’s amazing to finally hold the trophy.”
The last time the women’s team won the regular season title was in 2012 when Breault was a player on the team.
“That’s why I really wanted this for them,” Breault said. “It’s the best feeling to win a championship with your team.”
Saturday’s title-clinching win was a storybook ending for seniors Mayya Gorbunova and Best Lee who were honored prior to the opening serve for Senior Day.
“I’ve been working towards this since my freshman year and to get this on my senior day is insanely cool,” Gorbunova said.
Gorbunova’s last season in the green and gold included two Big Sky Player of the Week honors and she capped it off with her 13th singles win.
Lee was at her best in singles on Saturday, picking up a 6-2 set win and following it up with a 6-0 bagel to give the Hornets their first singles point of their Senior Day victory.
“I just tried to go to her weakness, which was the backhand,” Lee said. “Then if I have a chance, I’ll just step forward and come to the net to finish the point.”
In addition to the success of the seniors, the Hornets’ freshmen were outstanding in their rookie seasons.
Freshmen Lou Baudouin and Irene Riva ended the regular season tied for a team-high 17-3 singles record.
Gorbunova said she’s confident in her team and coaches going into the Big Sky Tournament.
“We have a very good dynamic,” Gorbunova said. “I just love these girls and I want to give it all out there for everyone.”
Sac State women’s tennis will enter the Big Sky Tournament at the Phoenix Tennis Center as the third seed and face Northern Arizona in the first round on Thursday.
RELATED: Hornets leave the nest smiling after brutal beatdown of the Vikings
Men’s Tennis
The men’s team clinched their share of the regular season title after sweeping Eastern Washington and improving their record to 15-5 and 7-1 in conference on Sunday, April 14.
Sac State will share the Big Sky regular season Championship with Northern Arizona after the Lumberjacks won their matchup against Idaho on Saturday.
Sac State’s men’s tennis head coach Kevin Kurtz said winning their first share of the Big Sky regular season title since 2013 was an amazing feeling.
“The guys are just competing and getting better and better each week,” Kurtz said. “We have some seniors that have never won the conference, so they’re just really locked in.”
On their way to winning their share of the regular season, multiple seniors went on winning streaks.
Mark Keki and Rudolfs Aksenoks both had 10 singles match win streaks, Jan Silva had seven in a row and Mate Voros had six.
Keki’s improved to 11, but everyone else’s win streak came to an end after the loss in the final regular season match against UC Davis on Thursday.
Although their regular season ended in a loss, the Hornets still had their longest win streak since 2010 and most wins since 2013.
“Just practicing, doing drills and things to play well at high altitude has helped a lot,” Kurtz said. “I think the most important thing is to serve well at high altitude.”
The Big Sky Conference announced Kurtz as Coach of the Year and Keki as the Most Valuable Player on Wednesday.
Keki also received first-team all-Big Sky honors for singles and doubles along with Voros. Silva received first-team all-Big Sky honors for just singles.
Sophomore Adam Chodur received second-team all-Big Sky honors for singles and doubles and junior Hayden Rand received honors just for singles.
Aksenoks was an honorable mention for singles. This is the most Hornets named all-Big Sky in program history.
Sac State men’s tennis will have a chance to win the Big Sky Tournament at the Phoenix Tennis Center and a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament starting in the second round on Thursday.
