Weekend College Recap: St. John’s Men Upset Harvard

February 29, 2016 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
ST

St. John’s men’s tennis notched one of the biggest wins in its program’s history on Friday as the Red Storm toppled 32nd ranked Harvard 4-3.

St. John’s got things started by securing the doubles point with victories in all three doubles contests. After picking up wins at the third and fifth singles flights, the Red Storm needed just one victory to seal the deal.

That win would come from second singles and Daniel Skripnik, who edged Sebastian Beltrame  6-4, 7-6 to clinch one of the best wins in school history.

“This was a total team win,” said Associate Head Coach Cory Hubbard. “All seven guys contributed by winning either singles or doubles so each guy contributed to the biggest win in program history. To beat Harvard, a perennial top 30 program, on the road is a huge step for us.”

In its second match over the weekend, the Red Storm fell to Dartmouth 4-3, but it didn’t take away from the success of Friday’s match.

“It was a tough turnaround to play another top 35 program in less than 24 hours,” added Hubbard. “We came up a little short and experience was the difference. The good news is now we have put St. John’s on the national map, and with four newcomers contributing, we will continue to improve and believe we can be a top 30 program.”

Up next for St. John’s is a road contest against Columbia on March 4.

On the women’s side, St. John’s knocked off Georgetown 5-2 in a Big East showdown. Top singles players Natallia Vavulina and Anna Morozova led the way with victories while the doubles tandems did their part with victories in two of the three flights to lead St. John’s to the win.

The Red Storm will face off with NJIT on March 4.

 

Columbia Men, Women Pick Up Two Weekend Wins

The great season for both the Columbia men’s and women’s tennis programs continued over the weekend.

The Columbia men traveled down south and knocked off Middle Tennessee State and Vanderbilt, while the women defended the Lion home turf with home victories over Kansas State on Friday and then Memphis on Sunday.

Top singles player Kanika Vaidya led the way for the women against Memphis, notching a 6-2, 6-2 win over Hannah Sohn for her eighth straight singles victory.

 

Queens College Wins Two of Three Weekend Contests

It was a busy weekend for the men of the Queens College tennis team as the Knights had a match on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Knights came out victorious in two of those three matches, picking up a 6-3 victory over Southern New Hampshire before concluding the weekend with a 8-1 win over Stonehill.

On Sunday, the Knights were anchored by its singles play, as all six flights were one by Queens in straight sets.

Queens College now sits at 3-2 on the season and will next take on Merrimack on March 12.

 

NYU Women Knock off Swarthmore

Both NYU men’s and women’s tennis teams traveled to Swarthmore this weekend for their 2016 season openers.

While the men’s team fell 8-1, the women’s team notched a 6-3 win over Swarthmore behind the play of Carmen Lai. The senior won both of her top singles and top doubles matches to help lead the Violets to the victory.

Former Half Hollow Hills East standout Vanessa Scot opened up her freshman campaign with victories at third singles as well as second doubles.

“I thought we showed some nerves early on but then we settled in and took control,” said NYU head coach Horace Choy. “Our top three really took the drama out of the match by dominating their singles matches. They played real well and got us off to a great start.”


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Oneononedoubles banner art resize
USTA NTC

January/February 2024 Digital Edition