St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
No. 5 Virginia
St. John’s to Play No. 5 Virginia in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament
5/2/2019 3:56:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Red Storm will play its first NCAA Tournament match since the 2016 season
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – With less than 24 hours remaining until its first showdown in the NCAA Tennis Championships since the 2016 season, the St. John's men's tennis team will battle No. 5 seed Virginia on Friday afternoon at the Sheridan Snyder Tennis Center in Charlottesville.
The contest is set to begin at 1 p.m. ET and can be seen live on VirginiaSports.com. The Red Storm (19-5) and Cavaliers (21-4) are joined by South Carolina and East Tennessee State in the Charlottesville regional. The first and second round matches will take place from May 3-4 and features a single elimination format.
The Johnnies earned an automatic berth in the tournament after defeating Marquette, 4-3, in comeback fashion in the conference title match on Monday, April 22. The Red Storm has won its last 13 contests, seven of those victories against BIG EAST opponents. The squad is two wins shy of matching the 21 victories the 2016 team achieved the last time St. John's featured in the NCAA Tournament.
Virginia enters the NCAA Tournament with a 21-4 mark, including an impressive 10-2 record in ACC play. The Cavaliers fell to Wake Forest, 4-2, on April 21, in the ACC Championship match. The hosts enter the tournament having won four national titles over the last six seasons (2013-15, 2017).
Andrei Crapcenco leads St. John's heading into the tournament, compiling an 11-6 record during dual-match play this season, mostly from the top court. The Romanian won all three of his matches in the BIG EAST Men's Tennis Championship to help the Johnnies win its first BIG EAST Men's Tennis Championship since 2016. His stellar play throughout the year earned the senior his first BIG EAST Men's Tennis Player of the Year, announced by the conference on Monday.
Alan Nunez Aguilera joined Crapcenco on the All-BIG EAST First Team after posting a rewarding season from the No. 2 position. The Co-BIG EAST Player of the Year from a year ago finished with an 8-3 record and 2-0 mark in the conference tournament. The senior form Puebla, Mexico was also recognized with a 2018-19 BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Award last month due to his stellar performance on the court and his contributions as a volunteer in his hometown during the offseason.
Heading into the tournament, Aditya Vashistha has seen a majority of the action on the No. 3 court. The sophomore emerged as a dominant force for the Johnnies in singles play, winning all nine matches he played at the No. 3 position during the regular season, earning a spot on the BIG EAST Second Team.
Dusan Vukicevic saved his best season for his senior campaign. The Serbian native is a combined 12-3 from the No. 4 and 5 positions and finished BIG EAST play with a 4-1 record. His highlight match of the season came in the BIG EAST final last Monday as the senior clinched the contest and the team's come-from-behind victory in three sets after dropping the first set. Vukicevic was named the most outstanding player of the 2019 BIG EAST Championships and was named a member of the BIG EAST Second Team.
Udayan Bhakar and Ognjen Trejgut head into Friday's matchup as the No. 5 and No. 6 singles competitors. Bhakar finished conference play with a 4-1 record on the No. 5 court while Trejgut went 10-2 from the No. 6 position.
The winner of tomorrow's match will face the winner of the South Carolina/East Tennessee State match in the second round on Saturday, May 4, at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
