St. John’s Men Win Third Straight Big East Title

May 2, 2016 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
st johns wins 4th straight champ
Photo Credit: St. John’s University Athletics

The St. John’s men’s tennis team captured its third straight Big East Championship on Sunday, defeating Marquette 4-0 to earn the fifth conference title in the program’s history.

The Red Storm got things going early on the doubles courts, as Michael-John Every  and Dusan Vukicevic rolled past Mackenzie Sterns and Kris Trukov 6-2 at third doubles. At second doubles, Lucas Hejhal and Alan Nunez Aguilera defeated Marquette’s Alvaro Verdu and Greg Anderson 6-3 at second doubles, earning St. John’s the doubles point.

Roberto Livi, the Big East Co-Player of the Year, kicked things off in singles play for St. John’s with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Nick Dykema. As was the case all year, the Red Storm depth showed its muster on Sunday. Hejhal rolled past Marquett’s Daniel Fernandez 6-3, 6-3 at the top singles spot.

The match would be clinched by senior Vaidik Munshaw, who beat Sterns 6-4, 7-6 at fourth singles to seal the win and the conference title for St. John’s.

“Today was an unbelievable effort by the entire team. I’m so excited for the guys as we put in a lot of hard work the last few weeks. We had a historic season to this point, but it all came down to today,” said Assistant Coach Cory Hubbard. “The heat from the weekend was a factor, and we have a deep team so some guys being rested was key. It was fitting that our three most experienced guys got the wins in singles. Roberto Livi was unbelievable again in the tournament and it played out perfectly having Lucas Hejhal and Vaidik Munshaw get the final points.

It’s been a great season with 21 wins, but we truly feel we can make a run in the NCAA Tournament.”

St. John’s has already set a program record for the most wins in a singles season, but has its sights set on a deep NCAA tournament run. The Red Storm will know who and where it is playing when the bracket is released on Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m.

Senior Vaidik Munshaw clinched the St. John's victory with a win at fourth singles

On the women’s side, St. John’s fell to Xavier 4-1 in the Big East semifinals on Saturday, snapping the Red Storm’s seven-match winning streak. 


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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