Jamaica, N.Y.The St. Johns mens tennis team defeated West Virginia, 4-3 and fell to Boston College, 4-1 and Rutgers, 4-3, in matches played over the weekend. The Red Storm record is 8-10 overall and 3-2 in the BIG EAST.

In the match versus West Virginia, the No. 2 doubles team of Morgan Bauer (New York, N.Y.) and Boris Chiporuka (Brooklyn, N.Y.) earned an 8-6 victory. The No. 3 team of Todd Goldberg (Pomona, N.Y.) and Rick Ferreira (Fort Beaufort, S. Africa) defeated Randall and Markham, 9-8, in an exciting match to secure the doubles point for the Red Storm.

In the singles matches, senior Jake Maxwell (Glen Cove, N.Y.), playing the No. 3 spot, defeated Bliss, 7-5, 6-2, while Bauer defeated Randall, 7-5, 6-4 at the No. 4. Chiporuka defeated Markham, 7-5, 7-6 at the No. 5, setting up an exciting clinching match at the No. 6. In the clinching match, Nick Stocker (Norwich, England) defeated Green, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to secure the match victory for the Red Storm.

In the match versus Rutgers, St. Johns dropped the doubles point, meaning they would have to take four out of six singles matches. Ferreira earned a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory at the No. 2, Maxwell earned a 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 3 and Stocker won a 6-1, 7-6 decision at the No. 6. However, the comeback would fall one match short, as the Scarlet Knights closed out the match, winning at the No. 1, 4, and 5 spots.

The St. Johns mens tennis team awaits the selection and announcement of the brackets for the 2003 BIG EAST Mens Tennis Championship to be played in Coral Gables, Fla. at the University of Miami.