St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Villanova
St. John’s to Resume Conference Play Against Villanova
3/29/2024 11:35:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The Red Storm will look to improve to 2-0 in conference play
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's tennis team will look for its second BIG EAST win of the season when it takes on Villanova on Saturday. First serve from the Villanova Tennis Complex in Villanova, Pa., is set for 1 p.m.
The Red Storm (13-4, 1-0 BIG EAST) are coming off a hard-fought 4-3 victory over No. 75 Monmouth on Wednesday, its first win over a ranked opponent this season. In doubles play, Ryota Kaneda and Adam Groves picked up their third win as a pair this season, and Leonardo Mileikowsky and Carl Gustavsson improved to 3-0 as a duo to claim the team point for the Johnnies.
Kaneda and Danilo Raicevic picked up singles wins on the No. 6 and 5 courts, respectively. With the match tied at three, Ignacio Vinas earned a three-set victory on the No. 3 court, giving the Red Storm the match-clinching fourth point.
Kaneda leads the Johnnies with 13 singles wins this season. The Junior has won each of his last three matches and is a perfect 3-0 when competing in the fourth singles position. Gustavsson has 10 wins in singles play with three of them coming on the No. 1 court. Raicavic improved to 9-1 this season with his win on Wednesday against the Hawks.
The Red Storm and the Wildcats will meet for the 16th time in program history on Saturday. The Johnnies are a perfect 15-0 against their conference rivals from Pennsylvania. When the two squads last met in 2023, St. John's earned a dominant 7-0 sweep on March 29, 2023, in Queens. The Red Storm has swept each of the last four matches against Villanova.
The Wildcats (4-10, 0-2 BIG EAST) are coming off a 7-0 setback against Butler last Saturday on the road. Villanova has dropped six straight matches and will face Bryant on Friday before facing St. John's on Saturday.
Following Saturday's matchup at Villanova, St. John's will return to action on Wednesday when it hosts NJIT. First serve from the St. John's Outdoor Courts is set for noon.
Players Mentioned
