Sacramento State looks to repeat as champions of the Big Sky Conference on Thursday at 8 a.m., where they’ll face the Montana Griz in the first round of the tournament.
The Hornets will attempt to defend their title but will have to navigate the tournament with an almost entirely new and young roster, consisting of six freshmen.
The young Hornets roster enters the tournament as the sixth seed, with an overall record of 10-11 and a conference record of 3-5.
Sac State has won one of its last five heading into the tournament, breaking a 3-game losing streak with a win against UC San Diego on April 13. Inconsistency rattled the Hornets in the blowout defeats, with no set player forming long winning streaks in singles or doubles.
The Griz entered the tournament as the second seed, boasting a 16-6 overall record with a 6-2 conference performance. Prior to the tournament, the Griz dominated in back-to-back 7-0 sweeps against Big Sky opponents Montana State and Eastern Washington.
Despite the Hornets being underdogs, freshmen Gur Libal, Martin Duris and sophomore Henry Lamchinniah will be key to pulling off an upset on Thursday.
Lamchinniah and Duris played Montana once this season, on March 7 in a 2-5 loss. The duo were the only Hornets to win singles matches in that contest, relying on a slower and more methodical pace in long rallies.
Though the Hornets play the Griz every year in conference play, six of the eight rostered players this year are freshmen. Thursday’s matchup will mark the majority of the roster’s second time ever playing their opponent.
Since 2011, the Hornets and the Griz are knotted up with an overall record of 8-8 against each other, making for an interesting matchup.
The young core’s biggest disadvantage is their inexperience in the postseason. Senior Hayden Rand is the only returning player from last year’s championship roster and the only Hornet to have played the Griz more than once.
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Throughout the season, the young core faced conditioning issues that led to deficits and singles-point losses. The majority of recent losses came as sweeps where the Hornets overshot or undershot the ball, leading to errors that gave their opponents the advantage.
Though a bright spot for the Hornets has been winning in long rallies, extended play pushes the young crew’s endurance and causes fatigue that could hinder their chances of an upset. For the long rallies to be successful, they’ll have to win in two sets to avoid the consequences of a third set.
The doubles window has also been an area of weakness. The Hornets have failed to find their footing in the majority of their doubles matches. Before sweeping against UC San Diego on April 13, Sac State hadn’t secured a doubles point since March 20 against Montana State.
The rest of the team will have to replicate Libal’s style of play by upping the aggression and playing at a faster pace.
The doubles point brings the first opportunity for a score advantage in every match, so securing an early lead can serve as a safety net if the Hornets drop singles matches.
If the Hornets take the doubles point, the roster can rely on Lamchinniah, Duris and Libal, the most reliable rackets in the singles slate, to spark an upset.
Lamchinniah was unanimously named a Big Sky All-Conference singles team member for his singles performances, while Duris made the All-Conference singles team as an honorable mention.
The 2025 Big Sky Men’s Tennis All-Conference Teams#ExperienceElevated pic.twitter.com/zOFmtvgXgB
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) April 23, 2025
Sac State will need to lean heavily on Lamchinniah and Duris, but their inexperience may rear its head in the high-intensity tournament atmosphere. The Hornets will need to get off to a quick start if they want a chance against the Griz, but it’ll be a tall task for a roster with limited postseason games under their belt.
