April 20, 2008
TAMPA, Fla. - The St. John's men's tennis team finished up play at the BIG EAST Championships on Sunday with a fifth-place match with the No. 4-seed Marquette Golden Eagles. The Red Storm fell short to MU, 4-0, and finished the conference tournament in sixth place. Marquette got ahead early, earning the doubles point with wins at the Nos. 1 and 3 spots. At the No. 1 spot, the STJ pair of juniors Artem Vlasenko and Gustavo Loza played their opponents Brett Binkley and Mark Rutherford close but it was the Golden Eagles that came out on top, 8-5. MU won the No. 3 matchup by the score of 8-2, clinching the early 1-0 lead. In singles, the Red Storm lineup struggled against Marquette's, as the Nos. 2, 5 and 6 spots were defeated in straight sets. Vlasenko was tied in his second set at the top spot with Trent Hagan after winning the first set 6-2, but was unable to finish as the Golden Eagles had already clinched the match. The Red Storm ended its dual-match spring season with an 11-12 record after teetering around the .500 mark all season long. The doubles play was the key to St. John's offense this season, as all of the team's 11 wins came when the team earned the doubles point. The core of juniors Vlasenko, Loza, Alex Svetlakov and Jordan Talbot provided great leadership for the team under seventh-year head coach Eric Rebhuhn. No. 4 Marquette 4, No. 7 St. John's 0
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