FARMINGTON, Utah (Mar. 31, 2022) - The 2022-23 season marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of Title IX, the law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally-funded education programs or activities and has helped create gender equality in sports. To celebrate this landmark, the Big Sky Conference is highlighting several inspiring female student-athletes from its member institutions, next up we take a look back at the career of Sacramento State tennis star Margarita Karnaukhova.
Karnaukhova played for the Hornets from 2003-2006 and left quite a legacy during her time at Sacramento State. The Krasnodar, Russia native was the first Big Sky athlete, in both men's and women's sports to be named the Big Sky MVP in all four years that she played. Karnaukhova never lost a match to a conference opponent during her career and became the first nationally-ranked player in Sacramento State history.
The former Hornet helped lead Sacramento State to four Big Sky championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances while qualifying for the NCAA Singles Tournament in her final three seasons. Karnaukhova advanced to Sweet 16 of NCAA Singles Tennis Championships and earned All-America honors in 2004.
The tennis star was ranked as high as 14th in the ITA singles rankings, and finished with a 66-17 career record at the No. 1 spot.
Karnaukhova's impressive career at Sacramento State did not go unnoticed as the Hornet was voted sixth in Big Sky’s list of “25 Greatest Female Athletes" in 2014 and was officially named to the Big Sky Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
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Big Sky Title IX Series
Lindsey Anderson (Weber State)
Katie Bussey (Montana State)
Adrienne Jordan (Northern Colorado)
Britney Yada (Portland State)
Kris Schmitt (Montana)
Margarita Karnaukhova (Sacramento State)