SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- As the regular season enters its final weekend, the Sacramento State women's tennis team continued to roll past opponents, posting a 5-0 shutout victory over Causeway rival UC Davis on Friday afternoon at the Sacramento State Tennis Complex.
The Hornets won their third straight dual match — all via shutout — to improve to 18-3 overall on the season and defeat the Aggies for the second time in the last three meetings. The shutout was also the 10th of the year for Sacramento State which are the most since the 2009 squad equalled that number en route to a 19-9 overall record.
With the loss, UC Davis completed its regular season at 10-13 overall.
Wins at the top two doubles positions staked the Hornets to the early lead as the duo of Emilija Pranyte and Palina Saulevich defeated Polina Marakhtanova and Solia Valentine, 6-3, and the tandem of Maddy Ferreros and Irene Riva posted a 6-4 win over Mika Ikemori and Daisy Maunupau at the top spot.
Sacramento State then opened singles play with wins in all six of the first sets before closing out the victory with wins at the No. 2, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 3 spots, in that order.
Sophomore Reese Walker was the first off with a 6-2, 6-3, win over Solia Valentine to improve to 14-4 overall on the year and win her fourth straight match. She was closely followed by sophomore Elena Mercioiu at No. 4, who was leading Marakhtonova, 6-1, 5-2, before the latter was forced to retire. The result gave Mercioiu her team-best 16th win of the season as she improved to 16-2 overall.
Sophomore Irene Riva then clinched the team victory with a, 6-3, 6-4, victory over Maunupau at No. 5, moving to 12-1 overall on the year in singles, before freshman Emilija Pranyte capped the scoring thanks to a 6-0, 6-4, win over Maya Youssef at No. 3.
Ferreros and Riva posted their third doubles clincher of the season and the duo's first since a win over Montana back on March 9, while Riva claimed her third match-clinching singles point of the season, tying her with Mercioiu for second on the team behind Lou Baudouin's four.
Sacramento State closes out the regular season on Saturday (April 19) at 11 a.m., hosting Big Sky Conference rival Idaho on campus. The winner clinches the No. 2 seed for the upcoming conference championships and earns a first-round bye.
NCAA WOMEN'S TENNIS
Sacramento State 5, UC Davis 0
April 18, 2025 // Sacramento, Calif. (Sacramento State Tennis Complex)
DOUBLES
1. Maddy Ferreros / Irene Riva (SAC) def. Mika Ikemori / Daisy Maunupau (UCD), 6-4
2. Emilija Pranyte / Palina Saulevich (SAC) def. Polina Marakhtanova / Solia Valentine (UCD), 6-3
3. Weronika Ejsmont / Reese Walker (SAC) vs. Claire Galerkin / Kaia Wolfe (UCD), 5-4 unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1*
SINGLES
1. Maddy Ferreros (SAC) vs. Mika Ikemori (UCD), 6-2, 4-5 unfinished
2. Reese Walker (SAC) def. Solia Valentine (UCD), 6-2, 6-3
3. Emilija Pranyte (SAC) def. Maya Youssef (UCD), 6-0, 6-4
4. Elena Mercioiu (SAC) def. Polina Marakhtanova (UCD), 6-1, 5-2 ret.
5. Irene Riva (SAC) def. Daisy Maunupau (UCD), 6-3, 6-4
6. Palina Saulevich (SAC) vs. Penelope Wong (UCD), 6-3, 2-3 unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 4, 5*, 3
