PHOENIX -- Sacramento State won the doubles point, but Northern Arizona ran off four straight singles victories to defeat the Hornets, 4-1, on Thursday in the Big Sky Conference Tournament quarterfinals at the Phoenix Tennis Center.
Northern Arizona entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed while Sacramento State drew the No. 6 seed. The Lumberjacks advance to tomorrow's semifinal round against No. 1 seed Idaho while the Hornets' season comes to an end.
Sacramento State finishes with a 12-11 overall record, which are nine more wins than all of last year. In addition, the Hornets have zero seniors on the roster, and played today with a lineup that featured two juniors, three sophomores and a freshman. Sacramento State drew the No. 6 seed at the six-team tournament after finishing with a 3-5 Big Sky Conference record. The loss was the second of the season to Northern Arizona (19-8, 6-2), which beat the Hornets by a 5-2 score in Sacramento on March 17.
Today's match started off well, as Sacramento State won the doubles point after Mark Keki/Mate Voros (6-4 at No. 1) and Patrick Wong/Rudolfs Aksenoks (6-3 at No. 3) were both victorious. The Hornets finish the year with a 19-4 mark in doubles play, and the 19 doubles points are easily a program record. In fact, Sacramento State won 13 straight doubles points to begin the season.
In singles play, however, NAU won four matches in straight sets to clinch the victory. Voros (No. 2), Wong (No. 4), Hayden Rand (No. 5) and Aksenoks (No. 6) each fell. Keki was tied with his opponent at 3-3 in the third set, and Ori Maior also had his matches stopped at No. 3 because NAU had clinched the victory.
Despite the season ending, there were some impressive records posted by Sacramento State players. That included the combination of Keki/Voros posting a 20-1 record in doubles play, including a perfect 9-0 mark when playing a Big Sky opponent. The 20 wins are the most in program history for a doubles team. That included a 6-3 victory over a ranked opponent two weeks ago.
In singles play, Keki was one of the top players in the Big Sky, posting a 15-5 record (all at No. 1), including a 6-1 mark against conference opposition. Other Hornets to win double-figure matches in singles includes Maior (10-9) and Aksenoks (10-8). Voros and Rand each won eight singles matches.
