St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm Women Lose in First Round, Finish 13th
4/24/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
It was the second-straight year the Red Storm men's team finished in third place in the tournament. In its first year under head coach Van Winitsky, St. John's finished 10-6 overall and 7-0 in the BIG EAST. The back-to-back third place finishes are the best for the Red Storm since taking second place three years in a row from 1993-95.
The third-seeded Red Storm, who received a first round bye, opened up play with a 4-1 win over sixth-seeded Connecticut. St. John's won four singles matches and two doubles matches en route to the win. Junior Eric Scharf (Yonkers, N.Y./Roosevelt), posted a 6-0, 6-1 win over Drew Broderick at No. 1 singles, while senior Jaideep Shetty (New Delhi, India/St. Columbus) won at No. 2, beating Mike Furman, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
The win advanced St. John's to a semifinal match with nationally-ranked Notre Dame, who posted a 4-0 win over the Red Storm on Saturday.
In Sunday's third-place match, West Virginia took two of three doubles matches, but the Red Storm won four of six singles matches, edging the Mountaineers, 4-3.
Scharf beat James Kent, 6-1, 6-2, at the top position, while Shetty beat Mike Dektas, 6-3, 7-5. Senior Andres Vainer (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Impacto) posted a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2) win over Ion Vlad at third singles, and junior Brian Scharf (Yonkers, N.Y./Roosevelt) sealed the win, taking a 6-3, 6-2 decision over Roe Vant Mantel at sixth singles.
Scharf, who will have a shot at making the NCAA Championships as an individual, finishes the regular season with a 33-3 record.
The St. John's women's team dropped a 5-0 decision to Boston College on Thursday, April 20 at Crandon Park in Coral Gables.
