April 17, 2008

QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's women's tennis team defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers Thursday morning in the opening round of the BIG EAST Championships hosted by the University of South Florida. The match was tight throughout, and despite a late comeback by the Mountaineers, senior Maria Zivcicova won at the No. 1 singles spot to clinch the 4-3 victory.

"Each girl played solid for us today. They were all there to support one another," said head coach Allison Davidson. "Everyone was on the edge of their seats for the match-clincher that Maria (Zivcicova) won. It was an exciting finish to a great match."

The victory extends the Red Storm's winning streak to eight matches, and its record improves to 11-10 overall. With the loss, West Virginia falls to 14-9.

The Mountaineers gained an early 1-0 lead in the match by winning the doubles point. At No. 1, The Red Strom duo of Alison Adamski / Emily Barnett defeated their opposing pair, 8-6. However, the Mountaineers won at Nos. 2 and 3 to deny St. John's the important early momentum.

In singles play, St. John's was able to take the lead with straight-set victories by senior Mariana Chachua and sophomore Ira Aleksova at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. Adamski kept St. John's ahead by winning the point at the No. 2 spot, 6-3, 7-6 (6-4 in tiebreaker). However, West Virginia rallied back to tie the match at 3-3 with wins at the Nos. 3 and 6 spots.

With the tie, the match came down to Zivcicova in the No. 1 spot. She won the first set over WVU's Stacey Percival, but Percival fought back to even the match up with a second set win. The final set came down to a tiebreaker, with Zivicicova coming out on top and clinching the match for St. John's. The final scores of that match were 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5 in tiebreaker).

The Red Storm advances to the quarterfinals, where the team will take on the second-seeded Louisville Cardinals. The Cardinals come in to the match boasting a 15-6 spring record. The match is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Friday on USF's Varsity Courts.

No. 7 St. John's 4, No. 10 West Virginia 3
USF Varsity Courts - Tampa, Fla.
Thursday, April 17, 2008

Doubles
1. Alison Adamski / Emily Barnett (STJ) def. Natalia Prinz/Stacey Percival (WVU), 8-6
2. Monica Lyskawa/Stephanie LaFortune (WVU) def. Ira Aleksova / Maria Zivcicova (STJ), 8-5
3. Monique Burton/Ashley Renee Pilsbury (WVU) def. Ashley Harper / Gabija Gasiunaite (STJ), 8-2

Singles
1. Maria Zivcicova (STJ) def. Stacey Percival (WVU), 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
2. Alison Adamski (STJ) def. Monica Lyskawa (WVU), 6-3, 7-6 (4)
3. Natalia Prinz (WVU) def. Emily Barnett (STJ), 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
4. Mariana Chachua (STJ) def. Colleen Speaker (WVU), 6-1, 6-4
5. Ira Aleksova (STJ) def. Stephanie LaFortune (WVU), 6-2, 6-1
6. Ashley Renee Pilsbury (WVU) def. Ashley Harper (STJ), 7-6 (2), 6-1
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 2, 6, 3, 1*

* denotes clincher