SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento State won the doubles point, and picked up singles wins from Mark Keki and Jan Silva, but it was not enough in a 4-3 home loss to UC Davis at the campus tennis courts.
The staggering number of 4-3 matches for the Hornets continued today as the team has now seen seven of its 13 matches end in 4-3 outcomes. That includes each of the last four decisions. The Hornets are 3-4 in those matches, and the team's record now stands at 3-10. Today marked the home finale.
Sacramento State was playing for the first time in over three weeks as the program's last match was a 4-3 win over Air Force on March 25. The win for UC Davis improved the Aggies' record to 7-9.
On a day when the Hornets honored their two seniors, Hermont Legaspi and Michael Vizcarra, Sacramento State got off to a nice start after winning the doubles point. The No. 2 tandem of Silva/Vizcarra (7-6) and No. 3 duo of Rudolfs Aksenoks/Carlos Rodriguez (6-3) were each victorious.
Sacramento State then took a 2-0 lead after Silva quickly dispatched of Brett Brinkman (6-2, 6-4) at No. 5. The Aggies tied things at 2-2 when Aksenoks fell at No. 4 (6-4, 6-2) and Carlos Rodriguez at No. 6 (6-2, 6-2).
Keki, a true freshman, gave the Hornets a 3-2 lead after winning in straight sets at the No. 1 position over Ivan Thamma (6-4, 6-4). The singles win for Keki was his seventh straight while improving to 8-3 this season. He was playing for just the second time this season at No. 1, and he is now 2-0 at the top spot and 6-3 at No. 2.
Despite the 3-2 deficit, the Aggies were able to win the final two singles matches, getting wins at No. 2 over Legaspi (6-1, 6-4) and No. 3 over Vizcarra (4-6, 6-0, 6-1).
Each of the first 13 matches of the season have come at home, as Sacramento State will now embark upon its first road trip of the year. The Hornets will play a pair of Big Sky Conference matches at Idaho State on April 23 and Weber State on April 24. Those will mark the final two matches of the regular season as the Hornets look to qualify for the Big Sky Tournament on May 1-2 in Phoenix, Ariz.
