Box Score SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento State sophomore Julia Moraes outlasted San Jose State's Lara Marco Mas in a three-set marathon at No. 5 singles, posting a shutout in the decisive third set to claim the winning point in the Hornets' 4-3 victory over San Jose State in their home opener on Saturday afternoon at the Sacramento State Tennis Courts on campus.
The win was the first of the year for Sacramento State, which avenged a 4-3 defeat at the hands of No. 65 Fresno State last week to improve to 1-1 overall on the season. It was the first win by the Hornets against the Spartans in the series since they defeated San Jose State, 7-0, in 2002, snapping an eight-match losing streak.
Fresh off their first win of the year last week against Hawai'i Pacific, the Spartans fell to 1-3 overall with the loss, suffering their second 4-3 defeat of the season.
Moraes, who was on the other end of a three-set defeat that clinched the match for the Bulldogs last week, left no doubt on Saturday in clinching her first win as a Hornet, opening with a 6-2 win in the first before suffering a 6-3 loss in the second to force the decisive third. There, Moraes was dominant, posting a 6-0 shutout to clinch the match and the overall victory for the Hornets.
That followed wins by newcomer Mayya Gorbunova and sophomore Weronika Ejsmont at No. 1 and No. 4, respectively, bringing Sacramento State back from a 3-1 deficit after San Jose State put the Hornets' collective backs against the walls with straight-set singles wins at No. 2, No. 3, and No. 6.
Gorbunova improved to 2-0 in singles play with a 7-6 (4), 6-1, victory over Carolina Millan at the top spot in the lineup, finishing 2-0 on the day after clinching a win in doubles. Ejsmont then picked up her first win of the season, winning a second-set tiebreaker 10-8 to defeat Raquel Villan Pereira, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8), to tie the match and set up Moraes' heroics.
Sacramento State won the doubles point for the second straight match to start the year — and its fourth overall dating back to the Hornets' two duals at last year's Big Sky Conference Championship — sweeping past San Jose State for the early 1-0 lead in the match.
Gorbunova and
Tsveti Yotova improved to 2-0 as a duo with a dominating 6-0 win at the No. 1 spot, while sophomore
Maddy Ferreros and junior
Alexis Johnson clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win at No. 3. Ejsmont and
Best Lee then clinched the sweep, defeating Millan and Marcos Mas at the No. 2 spot by a 6-4 score.
Sacramento State closes out a three-match home stand on Sunday (Feb. 5) with a doubleheader beginning at 10 a.m., welcoming Academy of Art and Fresno Pacific to the Sacramento State Tennis Courts.
NCAA WOMEN'S TENNIS
Sacramento State 4, San Jose State 3
Jan. 28, 2023 // Sacramento, Calif. (Sacramento State Tennis Courts)
DOUBLES
1.
Mayya Gorbunova /
Tsveti Yotova (SAC) def. Alba Pedrero Galindo / Irena Muradyan (SJSU), 6-0
2.
Weronika Ejsmont /
Best Lee (SAC) def. Carolina Millan / Lara Marco Mas (SJSU), 6-4
3.
Maddy Ferreros /
Alexis Johnson (SAC) def. Raquel Villan Pereira / Rozalina Youseva (SJSU), 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 3*, 2
SINGLES
1.
Mayya Gorbunova (SAC) def. Carolina Millan (SJSU), 7-6 (4), 6-1
2. Alba Pedrero Galindo (SJSU) def.
Maddy Ferreros (SAC), 6-2, 6-4
3. Irena Muradyan (SJSU) def.
Tsveti Yotova (SAC), 6-1, 7-5
4.
Weronika Ejsmont (SAC) def. Raquel Villan Pereira (SJSU), 6-4, 7-6 (10-8)
5.
Julia Moraes (SAC) def. Lara Marco Mas (SJSU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-0
6. Jovana Babic (SJSU) def.
Grace McSkimming (SAC), 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 3, 2, 1, 4, 5*
* denotes clinching match
