Jamaica, N.Y. - The St. Johns mens tennis team (0-2 BIG EAST) opened up its 2002 BIG EAST season with two defeats this past weekend. The Red Storm lost on Friday, March 15 to Virginia Tech, 6-1. The team then traveled to West Virginia on Saturday, March 17 and lost 4-2.

On Friday, St. Johns only victory came when junior Jake Maxwell (Glen Cove, N.Y.), playing at the number No. 2, defeated Virginia Techs Dupliljak 2-6, 7-6, 14-12. Maxwell pulled off the hard fought victory by winning a super tiebreaker after they split the first two sets.

On Saturday, junior Rick Ferriera (Fort Beaufort, South Africa), playing in the No. 3 position, gave St. Johns their only singles victory when he defeated West Virginias Paschalides 6-3,6-4. St. Johns was able to win two out of three doubles match to earn an overall point for the match. The first victory came when Ferreira and freshman John DeLeon (West Nyack, N.Y.) won at the No. 2 position, 8-3. Maxwell and freshman Boris Chiporukha (Brooklyn, N.Y.) were able to give the St. Johns the victory in doubles by winning at the No. 3 position, 8-6.

The St. Johns tennis team returns to BIG EAST action when they travel to Villanova on March 28 to take on the Wildcats at 1:00 p.m.