SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento State will be the No. 6 seed at this week's Big Sky Conference Tournament in Phoenix.
The single-elimination tournament, held at the Phoenix Tennis Center in Phoenix, Ariz., runs April 23-25 and features the top six teams from the eight-member conference. The quarterfinals take place on Thursday, semifinals are Friday, and championship match is Saturday. All matches begin at 8 a.m. PT.
The Hornets, one of the youngest teams in the Big Sky, finished the regular season with an 11-11 overall record and 2-5 mark in the conference. On the final day of the regular season, in a do-or-die match, the Hornets beat Portland State, 5-2, to claim the final spot in the conference tournament. The Hornets have zero seniors on the roster and routinely use two freshmen, three sophomores and one junior in the singles lineup.
As the No. 6 seed, the Hornets will play No. 3 seed Idaho State (10-9, 4-3) in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The winner of that match will play No. 2 Montana (13-7, 6-1) in the semifinals on Friday. The top two seeds receive a first round bye, including No. 1 Northern Arizona (16-5, 7-0). Sacramento State would have to win matches on three straight days to claim the tournament title.
Seeds for the tournament are as follows - No. 1 Northern Arizona, No. 2 Montana, No. 3 Idaho State, No. 4 Montana State (7-12, 3-4), No. 5 Idaho (8-17, 3-4) and No. 6 Sacramento State.
The winner of the Big Sky Tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, which begins May 1. The Hornets will attempt to make their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last three years, as the team won the Big Sky Tourney title in 2024.
Thursday will be the Hornets' first neutral site match of the season - the team went 8-4 at home and 3-7 on the road.
The Hornets will be seeking their 13th Big Sky Tournament championship (1998-99, 2001-03, 2007, 2009-13, 2024). They also have 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, which includes every year mentioned above except 1998.
2026 Big Sky Men's Tennis Championship Schedule
April 23-25 | Phoenix Tennis Center
All Matches Start at 8:00 a.m. PT
Thursday, April 23
Match 1: #4 Montana State vs. #5 Idaho
Match 2: #3 Idaho State vs. #6 Sacramento State
Friday, April 24
Match 3: #1 Northern Arizona vs. Lowest Remaining Seed Winner
Match 4: #2 Montana vs. Highest Remaining Seed Winner
Saturday, April 25
Championship: Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner
