Deuces were wild as both the men’s and women’s tennis squads completed a sweep of the Big Sky Conference post season tournament Sunday afternoon in Bozeman, Mont.

The championships earned both squads automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament, beginning May 11.

The Hornet men were the first to clinch as Sacramento State continued to dominate the Big Sky, going 33-1 over the last five years, including a 6-0 record with 13-straight wins this season.

The win marked the fourth time in five years the Hornets have won the title, but the accomplishment did not come easy.

Sac State used three-straight singles wins, capped by Peter Farkas’ 6-2, 6-3 win at the No. 6 singles spot, to rally from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Montana State University.

The Bobcats started fast, winning the doubles point with victories in the No. 1 and No.3 singles pairings.

MSU’s tandem of Thijs Goosens and BJ Havck outlasted the Hornets’ Sherif Zaher and Matthew Jones.

MSU then went up 2-0 as Braden Olson defeated Ali Abbou in the No. 4 singles match, 6-2, 6-1.

The Hornets finally got on the board as Jones controlled his match from start to finish, defeating Mark Hauck, 6-4, 6-4.

MSU regained control when Goosens notched a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 2 over Fabio Jesus to give the Wildcats the 3-1 lead.

After the 3-1 deficit, assistant coach Damon Coupe was worried about his teams’ chances at a comeback.

"I was concerned after doubles," Coupe said. "It just looked like we didn’t have the fire out there that we needed."

MSU’s coach Mike Philips had a different outlook after the doubles matches.

"We knew that we couldn’t rest on our laurels because our first couple of matches were so close," Philips said. "My boys continued to play hard but we just came up on the short end. Sac State did everything they were supposed to do. They stepped up."

Coming into the clinching game for the Wildcats, coach Coupe hoped that some reverse psychology could help his team.

Coupe felt that some of the pressure would switch to MSU’s side the closer they got to the championship.

"I told the boys we just need two players to get a win, one at a time," Coupe said. "The crowd was deafening and I knew one win would give us the confidence we needed and shake some enthusiasm up from their crowd."

Coupe was right. Zaher defeated Mazur in three sets, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, to cut the deficit to one and then Nick Sheehan won his match at number five 6-3, 6-2, to even the match at 3-3.

"Sherif’s win was the turning point of the match," Coupe said. "And then Nick really came through for us. That win took the wind out of their sails and we saw some of that pressure divert to their side. Nick was clutch."

The sold-out crowd at the Bobcat Tennis Center was in shock as the Hornets’ Farkas came onto the court with a chance to win the championship.

Even at 3-3, the Hornets knew they had the advantage.

"You instantly saw the pressure, on their faces, in their eyes and in the way they played that final match," Coupe said.

Farkas came through for the Hornets and defeated Jason Swanson 6-2, 6-3 for the championship.

"I can’t say enough about our resolve and confidence right now," Coupe said. "We feel like we can beat anybody in the country."

The Sac State women will make their first appearance in the NCAA tournament after defeating Northern Arizona University Sunday afternoon, 4-3.

The Hornets’ used strong singles performances from Marta Gronowicz, Petra Abraham and Amanda Sanches to improve their team record to 20-3 and 5-0 in the post season.

The 4-3 victory proved that experience was not a factor, as Sunday’s match was the first championship game ever played by the Hornets.

In the semi-final round on Saturday, Sac State defeated Weber St. 4-1 and improved their record against the Wildcats to 2-0 this season.

Sac State dominated all facets of the game, clinching the victory after four matches in singles play as Gronowicz, Fessenko and Abraham won in straight sets.

Both teams will find out the parings of the tournament on Thursday, May 2.

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