PHOENIX, Ariz. -- The Sacramento State women's tennis team punched its ticket to the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference women's tennis championships for the second straight season, as the No. 5-seeded Hornets eased past No. 4-seeded Idaho State, 4-0, on Thursday morning at the Phoenix Tennis Center in Phoenix, Ariz.
The win moves Sacramento State to 11-10 overall on the year and sets up a date with top-seeded Northern Arizona, which did not lose a Big Sky match during the regular season, on Friday morning at 8 a.m. PT. The Bengals ended their season at 10-9 overall.
Thursday's triumph avenged a loss to Idaho State earlier in the year in Pocatello, Idaho, in which the Hornets rallied back from an early 2-0 deficit to tie the match at three-all before the Bengals won at No. 6 to clinch the 4-3 victory. Sacramento State snapped a three-match losing streak to Idaho State in the process, posting its first win over the Bengals since a regular-season 5-2 victory on March 23, 2019.
The Hornets opened by sandwiching wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to take an early 1-0 lead in the match. Maddy Ferreros and Alexis Johnson won by a 6-2 score over Megan Lang Gould and Stefanya Shalakhova at No. 3 to get their team on the board, and Sacramento State clinched the doubles point after the Bengals tied things up with a win at No. 1 thanks to Mayya Gorbunova and Tsveti Yotova's win at No. 2 over Hana Cho and Leah Kuruvilla, 6-4.
Gorbunova and Yotova improved to 13-7 as a tandem this season with their victory, posting their fourth consecutive victory, while Ferreros and Johnson won for the sixth time in eight duals together.
Singles saw the Hornets make quick work of Idaho State with a trio of three-set victories to clinch the match. Yotova opened with a, 6-0, 6-4, win over Shalakhova at No. 4 and sophomore Grace McSkimming added a, 6-2, 6-4, win at No. 6 against Kuruvilla. Reigning Big Sky Player of the Week Gorbunova then wrapped up the win, gliding past Lola O'Lideadha at the No. 1 spot, 6-1, 6-4.
The win by Gorbunova improved the junior to 15-5 overall on the year (all at the No. 1 spot in the lineup), the most wins by a Hornet singles player since Ana Loaiza Esquivias finished the 2017-18 season with a 16-6 record as Sacramento State's No. 1 singles player. Yotova clinched her career-best 11th singles win of the season, while McSkimming picked up her eighth win of the year.
NCAA WOMEN'S TENNIS
No. 5 Sacramento State 4, No. 4 Idaho State 0
April 27, 2023 // Phoenix, Ariz. (Phoenix Tennis Center)
DOUBLES
1. Sol O'Lideadha / Lola O'Lideadha (ISU) def. Weronika Ejsmont / Best Lee (SAC), 6-4
2. Mayya Gorbunova / Tsveti Yotova (SAC) def. Hana Cho / Leah Kuruvilla (ISU), 6-4
3. Maddy Ferreros / Alexis Johnson (SAC) def. Megan Lang Gould / Stefanya Shalakhova (ISU), 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*
SINGLES
1. Mayya Gorbunova (SAC) def. Lola O'Lideadha (ISU), 6-1, 6-4
2. Maddy Ferreros (SAC) vs. Hana Cho (ISU), 6-2, 4-3 unfinished
3. Weronika Ejsmont (SAC) vs. Sol O'Lideadha (ISU), 7-6, 1-1 unfinished
4. Tsveti Yotova (SAC) def. Stefanya Shalakhova (ISU), 6-0, 6-4
5. Best Lee (SAC) def. Megan Lang Gould (ISU), 6-2, 4-3 unfinished
6. Grace McSkimming (SAC) def. Leah Kuruvilla (ISU), 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 6, 4, 1*
