PHOENIX — Sacramento State's regular season championship trophy now has some company.
Senior Mayya Gorbunova defeated Weber State's Megan Davies in straight sets at No. 1 singles on Saturday morning, setting off a green and gold celebration as the Hornets clinched their first Big Sky Conference Tournament title since 2012 with a 4-2 victory over Weber State at the Phoenix Tennis Center in Phoenix, Ariz.
Sacramento State improved to 20-7 overall and clinched the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament with the victory, claiming its 12th Big Sky Tournament crown to break a tie with the Wildcats for the most in conference history. The Hornets will be making their 14th NCAA appearance, but their first since 2014 when they faced off against third-seeded UCLA in Los Angeles.
This year's postseason field will be announced on Monday (April 29) at 3:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
The 20 wins overall are also the most by a Sacramento State women's tennis team since the 2008 squad finished 21-7 overall, 8-0 in conference play, and faced No. 21 Arizona State in NCAA Tournament play.
Weber State finished 14-10 overall.
Gorbunova was named the inaugural Big Sky Tournament Most Valuable Player at event's end, picking up a pair of huge wins during the week. In addition to her clincher on Saturday, her three-set win at No. 1 against Northern Arizona's Patrycja Niewiadomska on Thursday tied the match at three-all in an eventual 4-3 Hornet first-round victory.
Sacramento State opened the match on a high note, getting a win at No. 2 doubles by Maddy Ferreros and Irene Riva, 6-1, and then breaking a tie with a win at No. 3 by Gorbunova and Lou Baudouin, 6-4, to clinch the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead.
Freshman Irene Riva and senior Best Lee wasted little time in building a 3-0 lead for the Hornets. Riva was the first off thanks to a, 6-2, 6-2, win over Sicely Ferreira at No. 5 and Lee followed with a, 6-1, 6-2, win over Yangpingan Li at No. 6 to put the Hornets on the brink of victory.
Weber State answered back with a pair of straight-set wins of its own to get to within a point, posting wins at No. 2 and No. 4 singles to make it 3-2, but Sacramento State would not be denied.
Gorbunova, who won the first set by a 6-3 score, fell behind 3-0 in the second and trailed 4-1 before rallying back. The senior won the next two then tied things up with a win at deuce to make it 4-4 and did it again in the next game to take a 5-4 lead en route to the win.
Riva's victory in singles improved the freshman to 20-3 overall on the season — including a 12-1 record at the No. 5 spot in the line up — becoming the first Hornet to win at least 20 matches in a single season since Clarisse Baca finished 20-7 during the 2010-11 season. Gorbunova improved to 15-5 on the year — all at the No. 1 spot in the lineup — and won the 30th singles match of her two-year career in the green and gold.
Meanwhile in doubles, Ferreros and Riva improved to 16-4 as a doubles tandem, tying them for the seventh-most wins in a single season by a doubles team since 1992, and tied for the third most wins at No. 2 doubles in that same time span.
NCAA WOMEN'S TENNIS - BIG SKY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
#3 Sacramento State 4, #5 Weber State 2
April 27, 2024 // Phoenix, Ariz. (Phoenix Tennis Center)
DOUBLES
1. Ana Morett / Megan Davies (WSU) def. Weronika Ejsmont / Best Lee (SAC), 6-3
2. Maddy Ferreros / Irene Riva (SAC) def. Sicely Ferreira / Dylan Lolofie (WSU), 6-1
3. Lou Baudouin / Mayya Gorbunova (SAC) def. Jessica Hill / Kenadee Semenik (WSU), 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3*
SINGLES
1. Mayya Gorbunova (SAC) def. Megan Davies (WSU), 6-3, 6-4
2. Ana Morett (WSU) def. Lou Baudouin (SAC), 6-1, 6-3
3. Maddy Ferreros (SAC) vs. Dylan Lolofie (WSU), 4-6, 5-2 unfinished
4. Sydney Schnell (WSU) def. Elena Mercioiu (SAC), 6-4, 6-1
5. Irene Riva (SAC) def. Sicely Ferreira (WSU), 6-2, 6-2
6. Best Lee (SAC) def. Yangpingan Li (WSU), 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 6, 2, 4, 1*
