SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento State women's tennis team opened with a pair of doubles victories to take an early 1-0 lead in the match, but the Hornets could not hold off Cal State Fullerton in singles play as the visiting Titans won at the top four spots in the lineup to take a 4-1 non-conference triumph on Friday afternoon at the Sacramento State Tennis Courts on campus.

The Hornet duo of Maddy Ferreros and Alexis Johnson opened their day with a 6-2 win at No. 3 to get the Hornets out of the gates quickly and Sacramento State finished off the doubles win at the top spot in the lineup as the tandem of Tsveti Yotova and Paige Alter outlasted the Titan team of Eira Tobrand and Camila Garcia, 7-5, to take a 1-0 lead in the match overall.

Ferreros and Johnson improved to 4-6 as a team this season, earning their third win at the No. 3 spot in the lineup and winning their second straight overall together. Meanwhile, Alter and Yotova improved to 6-7 on the year in doubles, winning their fourth consecutive match together, including their third as the Hornets' top doubles duo.

Cal State Fullerton, ranked No. 60 in the nation according to the Division I Women's ITA Collegiate Tennis National Team Rankings sponsored by Tennis-Point as of March 30, answered quickly with a win at No. 1 singles to tie the match and took the lead with a three-set victory at No. 2 after Yotova had won her opening set against Natalie Duffy, 6-4. Alter also posted a win in her opening set against Garcia, 6-3, before falling in three sets and the Titans clinched the win with a straight-set win at No. 3 with Ferreros forcing a tiebreaker in the second against Tobrand.

In a pair of unfinished contests, Johnson also took home a win in her opening set, 6-4, against Kaytlin Taylor, but trailed in the third, while Grace McSkimming was up a set following a 6-4 win in the first and was locked in a tiebreaker against India Nespor before the dual came to a close.

Sacramento State closes out the home portion of its 2022 spring schedule on Saturday (April 2) at Noon, returning to Big Sky Conference play by hosting Weber State. The Hornets then wrap-up the regular season with five straight matches on the road — four of those against conference opponents — leading up to the conference championships on April 30-May 1 in Phoenix, Ariz.

NCAA WOMEN'S TENNIS
Cal State Fullerton 4, Sacramento State 1
April 1, 2022 // Sacramento, Calif.

DOUBLES
1. YOTOVA, Tsveti/ALTER, Paige (SAC) def. Eira Tobrand/Camila Garcia (CSF) 7-5
2. YuSeung Suh/Natalie Duffy (CSF) def. EJSMONT, Weronika/TAGALOA, Megan (SAC) 6-2
3. FERREROS, Maddy/JOHNSON, Alexis (SAC) def. Juliette Daries/Kaytlin Taylor (CSF) 6-2

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1*

SINGLES
1. YuSeung Suh (CSF) def. EJSMONT, Weronika (SAC) 6-2, 6-2
2. Natalie Duffy (CSF) def. YOTOVA, Tsveti (SAC) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
3. Eira Tobrand (CSF) def. FERREROS, Maddy (SAC) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
4. Camila Garcia (CSF) def. ALTER, Paige (SAC) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
5. JOHNSON, Alexis (SAC) vs. Kaytlin Taylor (CSF) 6-4, 1-6, 1-4, unfinished
6. MCSKIMMING, Grace (SAC) vs. Indya Nespor (CSF) 6-4, 6-6 (0-3), unfinished

Order of finish: 1, 2, 4, 3*