SJU Moments: the 2018 BIG EAST Champions

5/6/2020 1:30:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Head Coach Lauren Leo reflects on the historic 2018 season which resulted in the program’s first BIG EAST title

By: Nicholas Diamantis

QUEENS, N.Y. (May 6, 2020) – In the spring of 2018, the St. John's women's tennis team turned in one of the most successful seasons in program history, capturing its first-ever BIG EAST Championship and earning an automatic berth to the 2018 NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament.

For the first time in the history of the program, the St. John's women's tennis team sat atop of the conference after the top-seeded Red Storm defeated No. 2 seed DePaul, 4-2, to win the 2018 BIG EAST Championships in Cayce, S.C.

The Johnnies were coming off one of their best seasons in 2017, tallying an overall record of 18-4, including an 8-1 showing in BIG EAST play, marking the program's highest win total since 1981-82. Head Coach Lauren Leo also accomplished a feat of her own, recording the most wins by a St. John's head coach in her first two seasons at the helm. There was, however, one more accomplishment that she and her team set as their primary goal for 2018, winning a BIG EAST Championship.

In the spring of 2018, the Johnnies were the top team in the league heading into the conference tournament. The Red Storm was emerged victorious in 14 of its 19 regular season matches, including an impressive 4-1 record against BIG EAST opponents.

"The team as a whole was very talented in 2018 and they had a mindset that they really wanted to win the BIG EAST Tournament and show the conference who St. John's tennis is," said Leo. "They were fired up all season and were gaining momentum heading into the tournament."

After rolling through eighth-seeded Georgetown and fourth-seeded Xavier to secure a spot in the championship match, the Red Storm learned they would face a DePaul squad that had proven to be a thorn in the Johnnies' side as of late. The Blue Demons defeated St. John's, 4-3, in the 2017 conference title match and again in the regular season at home on March 30, 2018.

"The regular season loss to DePaul helped us because that fueled us in our rematch against them in the finals," said Leo. "I thought the girls did a very good job harnessing their nerves to perform on a high level in such an important match."

In the title match, St. John's claimed the doubles point in its third-consecutive match at the conference tournament and for the 17th time in 22 opportunities that season.

Olaya Inclan Solis and Irina Preotescu kicked off doubles play with a 6-2 win in the opening contest of the day. Zofia Stanisz and Jessica Livianu cemented the early 1-0 lead with a 6-4 win in the No. 1 doubles slot.

Jaide Collins and Kajsa Stegrell were just moments away from claiming their doubles tilt at the No. 3 spot as the duo was leading 6-5 following the clinched doubles point.

After the Blue Demons quickly evened the tilt at one with a victory on the no. 4 court, the Johnnies restored the lead when Stegrell rolled to a 6-0, 6-3 win at the six for the freshman's fifth victory in her last six tries.

Livianu pushed the lead to 3-1 with the Brooklyn native's 16th-straight victory on the top court. The sophomore captured the opening set, 6-1, before adding an exclamation point with a 6-2 triumph in the second set to remain perfect against conference foes over her two-year career.

DePaul pulled within one following a win at the no. 3 position, cutting the deficit to 3-2 with just two singles matches still in play.

On the no. 2 court, Solis jumped out to a big lead in her opening set to hold on for a 6-3 victory, but fell behind, 5-2, in the second set as the Blue Demons were looking to stay alive in the match.

"Olaya (Solis) was down in the second set and was climbing her way back and in her first sudden death point, she hit this fantastic backhand down the line to keep our team alive," said Leo. "For her to have the confidence to hit that backhand in that moment, something we've practiced her entire career, is something I will remember about that match forever. Olaya winning that point shifted the match in our favor."

The junior mounted a huge comeback in the final set to clinch the win with a 7-6 triumph. The victory was the third-straight match that Solis clinched for the Johnnies and was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

With the victory, the Red Storm (17-5) secured a spot in the 2018 NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament with an automatic qualifier, earning a date with Stanford in the first round.

"Winning the BIG EAST Championship was such a memorable experience that I will cherish forever," said Livianu, a three-time BIG EAST Player of the Year. "I'll never forget how hard we worked together and supported each other through the ups and downs to reach such a height in our college careers."

"All that hard work and knowing that we made history as a program was incredible," said Leo. "Our girls and our coaching staff was excited to compete against Stanford in California."

Despite falling to Stanford in the first round, Leo's squad ended the 2017-18 campaign with a 17-6 overall record, marking the program's fourth-straight season with at least 14 wins.

"Being able to compete against such a good program in Stanford, the eventual NCAA Champions that year, was a really cool experience for our girls," said Leo. "We competed well with them. Jess and Olaya had close singles matches and doubles play came down to a couple of sudden death points. That match showed the girls that they are talented, can compete with anybody and built their confidence."

Coach Leo and the women's tennis team were approaching another run for a BIG EAST Championship before the COVID-19 outbreak led to the cancelation of the 2020 spring season.

"It was unfortunate that our season got cut short, but everything happens for a reason and we will be back giving it our all on the court as soon as we're able to," said Leo. "I'm just excited to get back into coaching and I know our girls are anxious to have another opportunity to compete.

"Looking back after this pandemic is over, I think the program and the players will have a sense of gratitude to have the chance to train and compete," said Leo. "Personally, I am very excited and looking forward to the future of St. John's Tennis."