St. John's University Athletics
Armando Sotelo Named Freshman of the Year; Three Johnnies Earn All-BIG EAST Postseason Honors
5/2/2024 10:52:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Carl Gustavsson earned first-team honors; Ryota Kaneda and Francisco Bascon tabbed to the second team
NEW YORK – Men's tennis' Armando Sotelo was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year while Carl Gustavsson, Ryota Kaneda and Francisco Bascon were all tabbed to the all-conference teams, the conference announced on Thursday.
Gustavsson was unanimously selected to the first team for the second consecutive year while Kaneda and Bascon earned second-team honors.
The four St. John's student-athletes honored by the BIG EAST are the most since the Johnnies had five representatives in the conference's 2019 postseason awards.
Sotelo went a combined 21-6 this season across singles and doubles play, helping the Johnnies to its fifth-straight BIG EAST championship match. The freshman won eight straight singles contests from March 1 through April 22 and started 9-0 in doubles play alongside Martin Bugaj.
The Queretaro, Mexico native earned BIG EAST Singles Player of the Week on April 8 and becomes the first Red Storm athlete to be named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year since Robert Livi in 2014
With his second-straight unanimous first team nod, Gustavsson has been named to an All-BIG EAST team in each of his first three seasons with the Red Storm. The Stockholm, Sweden product excelled for the Johnnies in singles play this season, winning 17 matches, including four-of-five contests on the No. 1 singles court.
The junior finished the season on a six-match winning streak and picked up victories in the Red Storm's BIG EAST quarterfinal and semifinal wins against No. 8 Marquette and No. 5 Butler. Gustavsson was named the conference's singles player of the week on January 29.
Kaneda earns his first-career all-conference honor after leading St. John's with an 18-4 singles record and teamed up with Adam Groves to achieve an 11-3 mark in doubles play. His 29 combined victories are a career-best and has eclipsed 15 singles victories in each of the last two campaigns. Kaneda and Groves were tabbed BIG EAST Doubles Team of the Week on April 1 and April 8.
The Fukuoka, Japan product picked up eight consecutive victories from March 1 through April 19, including earning a straight-set, 6-4, 6-4 decision in the Red Storm's triumph over No. 75 Monmouth on March 27.
Bascon picked up his spot on the second team after finishing 9-6 in singles play, primarily competing on the No. 1 court. The first-year Johnnie also won six singles contests, four of which came with Leonardo Mileikowsky. After earning Big Sky Most Valuable Player in 2021 and 2023 while at Idaho, the graduate student received his fourth straight all-conference nod.
2024 BIG EAST Postseason Awards
Player of the Year
Jake Fellows, Sr., Georgetown (Tokyo, Japan)*
Freshman of the Year
Armando Sotelo, Fr., St. John's (Queretaro, Mexico)*
Co-Coaching Staffs of the Year
DePaul (Matt Brothers) and Georgetown (Freddy Mesmer)
First Team
Leon Huck, Gr., DePaul*
Matteo Iaquinto, Jr., DePaul*
Pablo Torres Almeida, So., DePaul
Jake Fellows, Jr., Georgetown*
Zamaan Moledina, So., Georgetown*
Carl Gustavsson, Jr., St. John's*
Second Team
Alvaro Huete Vadillo, 5th, Butler
Alejandro Gandini, Jr., Creighton
Blake Roegner, So., Marquette
Francisco Bascon, Gr., St. John's
Ryota Kaneda, Jr., St. John's
Ryan Cahill, Jr., Xavier
*Denotes unanimous selection
Gustavsson was unanimously selected to the first team for the second consecutive year while Kaneda and Bascon earned second-team honors.
The four St. John's student-athletes honored by the BIG EAST are the most since the Johnnies had five representatives in the conference's 2019 postseason awards.
Sotelo went a combined 21-6 this season across singles and doubles play, helping the Johnnies to its fifth-straight BIG EAST championship match. The freshman won eight straight singles contests from March 1 through April 22 and started 9-0 in doubles play alongside Martin Bugaj.
The Queretaro, Mexico native earned BIG EAST Singles Player of the Week on April 8 and becomes the first Red Storm athlete to be named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year since Robert Livi in 2014
With his second-straight unanimous first team nod, Gustavsson has been named to an All-BIG EAST team in each of his first three seasons with the Red Storm. The Stockholm, Sweden product excelled for the Johnnies in singles play this season, winning 17 matches, including four-of-five contests on the No. 1 singles court.
The junior finished the season on a six-match winning streak and picked up victories in the Red Storm's BIG EAST quarterfinal and semifinal wins against No. 8 Marquette and No. 5 Butler. Gustavsson was named the conference's singles player of the week on January 29.
Kaneda earns his first-career all-conference honor after leading St. John's with an 18-4 singles record and teamed up with Adam Groves to achieve an 11-3 mark in doubles play. His 29 combined victories are a career-best and has eclipsed 15 singles victories in each of the last two campaigns. Kaneda and Groves were tabbed BIG EAST Doubles Team of the Week on April 1 and April 8.
The Fukuoka, Japan product picked up eight consecutive victories from March 1 through April 19, including earning a straight-set, 6-4, 6-4 decision in the Red Storm's triumph over No. 75 Monmouth on March 27.
Bascon picked up his spot on the second team after finishing 9-6 in singles play, primarily competing on the No. 1 court. The first-year Johnnie also won six singles contests, four of which came with Leonardo Mileikowsky. After earning Big Sky Most Valuable Player in 2021 and 2023 while at Idaho, the graduate student received his fourth straight all-conference nod.
2024 BIG EAST Postseason Awards
Player of the Year
Jake Fellows, Sr., Georgetown (Tokyo, Japan)*
Freshman of the Year
Armando Sotelo, Fr., St. John's (Queretaro, Mexico)*
Co-Coaching Staffs of the Year
DePaul (Matt Brothers) and Georgetown (Freddy Mesmer)
First Team
Leon Huck, Gr., DePaul*
Matteo Iaquinto, Jr., DePaul*
Pablo Torres Almeida, So., DePaul
Jake Fellows, Jr., Georgetown*
Zamaan Moledina, So., Georgetown*
Carl Gustavsson, Jr., St. John's*
Second Team
Alvaro Huete Vadillo, 5th, Butler
Alejandro Gandini, Jr., Creighton
Blake Roegner, So., Marquette
Francisco Bascon, Gr., St. John's
Ryota Kaneda, Jr., St. John's
Ryan Cahill, Jr., Xavier
*Denotes unanimous selection
Players Mentioned
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