St. John's University Athletics
Friday, April 23
Cayce, S.C (Cayce Tennis Center)
1 p.m.
St. John's University
4
vs
1
Xavier (Quarterfinals)
Red Storm Drops Xavier, 4-1, in BIG EAST Quarterfinal Match
4/23/2021 5:33:00 PM | Men's Tennis
No. 2 seed Johnnies advance to the semifinals for the third straight season
CAYCE, S.C. – The No. 2 St. John's men's tennis team took down No. 7 Xavier, 4-1, on Friday afternoon to advance to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tennis Championships presented by Jeep.
The Red Storm (15-1, 2-0 BIG EAST) will take on the winner of the battle between No. 3 Marquette and No. 6 Villanova which fell underway on Friday at 5 p.m. The semifinal match will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon down in Cayce, S.C.
The Johnnies got off to a slow start in their quarterfinal match with the Musketeers (2-12, 0-3 BIG EAST) as they dropped the doubles point but swept each of their contests on the Nos. 3-6 courts. The Red Storm has now defeated Xavier in each of the last three BIG EAST Tennis Championships.
Charlie James and Ignacio Garcia were paired up on the No. 1 court in doubles play but fell, 6-3, while Djuro Opacic and Evan Felcher went down on the No. 2 court, 6-1. Giuseppe De Camelis and Louis-nils Michel were leading, 4-3, on the No. 3 court when the match was called.
Although they dropped the team point in doubles, the Johnnies came out strong in singles play, as De Camelis got his team on the board on the No. 6 court, taking his match in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-1, to tie the score. The win marked the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week's 13th of the season and fifth in a row.
The next decision came on the No. 3 court, as James dropped Jan Vraba in consecutive sets, 6-1 and 6-2, to give the Johnnies a lead that they would not relinquish. The victory was the eighth of the season for James and his second in the No. 3 position.
With the Red Storm leading, 2-1, Michel also dominated his match on the No. 4 court, winning in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-1, to notch his ninth win of the season. The Red Storm senior brought his record to 9-1 in 2021.
The final point of the day came on the No. 5 court where Felcher took his contest, 6-2 and 5-2 (ret.) to seal the quarterfinal victory for the Johnnies. Opacic and Garcia each were leading their matches on the Nos. 1 and 2 courts respectively when the contest was called in favor of the Red Storm.
The reigning BIG EAST champions await the winner of the battle between No. 6 Villanova and No. 3 Marquette to decide their opponent in the round of four. The Wildcats were the only BIG EAST opponent that the Johnnies faced in the regular season and they won the match, 7-0.
The Red Storm last met the Golden Eagles in the BIG EAST Championship in 2019, taking the match, 4-3. Marquette is 9-6 in 2021 and 3-1 in BIG EAST play, having defeated Creighton, DePaul and Xavier thus far in 2021.
Stay tuned to @StJohnsMTennis on Twitter and Red Storm Sports.com for updates throughout the weekend.
Doubles
Matt Graft/Brent Winters (XU) def. Charlie James/Ignacio Garcia (SJU) 6-3
Cambell Nakayama/Srdan Pejic (XU) def. Ojuro Opacic/Evan Felcher (SJU) 6-1
Giuseppe DeCamelis/Louis-Nils Michel (SJU) leading Jan Vrba/Shashank Reddy (XU) 4-3 DNF
Order of Finish: 2, 1
Singles
Opacic (SJU) leading Winters (XU) 3-6, 6-2, 4-1 DNF
Garcia (SJU) leading Pejic (XU) 6-4, 5-4 DNF
James (SJU) def. Vrba (XU) 6-1, 6-2
Michel (SJU) def. Graft (XU) 6-2, 6-1
Felcher (SJU) def. Nakayama (XU) 6-2, 5-2 retired
DeCamelis (SJU) def. Reddy (XU) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4, 5
The Red Storm (15-1, 2-0 BIG EAST) will take on the winner of the battle between No. 3 Marquette and No. 6 Villanova which fell underway on Friday at 5 p.m. The semifinal match will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon down in Cayce, S.C.
The Johnnies got off to a slow start in their quarterfinal match with the Musketeers (2-12, 0-3 BIG EAST) as they dropped the doubles point but swept each of their contests on the Nos. 3-6 courts. The Red Storm has now defeated Xavier in each of the last three BIG EAST Tennis Championships.
Charlie James and Ignacio Garcia were paired up on the No. 1 court in doubles play but fell, 6-3, while Djuro Opacic and Evan Felcher went down on the No. 2 court, 6-1. Giuseppe De Camelis and Louis-nils Michel were leading, 4-3, on the No. 3 court when the match was called.
Although they dropped the team point in doubles, the Johnnies came out strong in singles play, as De Camelis got his team on the board on the No. 6 court, taking his match in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-1, to tie the score. The win marked the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week's 13th of the season and fifth in a row.
The next decision came on the No. 3 court, as James dropped Jan Vraba in consecutive sets, 6-1 and 6-2, to give the Johnnies a lead that they would not relinquish. The victory was the eighth of the season for James and his second in the No. 3 position.
With the Red Storm leading, 2-1, Michel also dominated his match on the No. 4 court, winning in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-1, to notch his ninth win of the season. The Red Storm senior brought his record to 9-1 in 2021.
The final point of the day came on the No. 5 court where Felcher took his contest, 6-2 and 5-2 (ret.) to seal the quarterfinal victory for the Johnnies. Opacic and Garcia each were leading their matches on the Nos. 1 and 2 courts respectively when the contest was called in favor of the Red Storm.
The reigning BIG EAST champions await the winner of the battle between No. 6 Villanova and No. 3 Marquette to decide their opponent in the round of four. The Wildcats were the only BIG EAST opponent that the Johnnies faced in the regular season and they won the match, 7-0.
The Red Storm last met the Golden Eagles in the BIG EAST Championship in 2019, taking the match, 4-3. Marquette is 9-6 in 2021 and 3-1 in BIG EAST play, having defeated Creighton, DePaul and Xavier thus far in 2021.
Stay tuned to @StJohnsMTennis on Twitter and Red Storm Sports.com for updates throughout the weekend.
Doubles
Matt Graft/Brent Winters (XU) def. Charlie James/Ignacio Garcia (SJU) 6-3
Cambell Nakayama/Srdan Pejic (XU) def. Ojuro Opacic/Evan Felcher (SJU) 6-1
Giuseppe DeCamelis/Louis-Nils Michel (SJU) leading Jan Vrba/Shashank Reddy (XU) 4-3 DNF
Order of Finish: 2, 1
Singles
Opacic (SJU) leading Winters (XU) 3-6, 6-2, 4-1 DNF
Garcia (SJU) leading Pejic (XU) 6-4, 5-4 DNF
James (SJU) def. Vrba (XU) 6-1, 6-2
Michel (SJU) def. Graft (XU) 6-2, 6-1
Felcher (SJU) def. Nakayama (XU) 6-2, 5-2 retired
DeCamelis (SJU) def. Reddy (XU) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4, 5
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Men's Tennis NCAA Selection Show
Tuesday, April 30