Coral Gables, Fla.  The St. Johns University mens tennis team fell to Rutgers University, 4-3 this morning in the first round of the 2001 BIG EAST Championship being held at Miami University. The No. 5 seed Red Storm (9-7, 4-3) lost to the No. 4 seed Scarlet Knights (11-6, 7-0) for the second time this season. SJU fought tough in todays matches, responding to every Rutgers lead with a point of their own.

In third doubles action the team of Cameron Lore (Toronto, Canada) and Fabian Carchi (Corona, N.Y.) battled in a tough match. After rebounding from being down, Lore and Carchi eventually fell 7-9 to Zetsu and Deming. Muscatiello and Kushner proved to be too much for Christian Carere (Brampton, Canada) and Brian Scharf (Bronxville, N.Y.), winning 8-2 at No. 2 doubles. Due to tournament rules, the remaining match was stopped once Rutgers captured two of the three doubles matches. In No. 1 doubles the team of Erik Scharf (Bronxville, N.Y.) and Jake Maxwell (Glen Cove, N.Y.) was tied with Jagdale and Schweitzer 7-7 when the match ended. The Red Storm trailed 0-1 heading into singles play.

At No. 3 singles, Carchi showed his talent for the game easily putting away Deming, 6-3, 64. On his birthday, Carchis gave his team a gift, tying the match at one-all. Then at No. 4 singles, B. Scharf was unable to capitalize on being up 4-1 in the first set. B. Scharf lost confidence in his game and fell 4-6, 4-6 to Bielen. Rutgers was once again in the lead, 2-1.

E. Scharf dropped a set for only the second time this season at the No. 1 spot. E. Scharf did not seem like himself in the first set, falling 4-6 to Jagdale. E. Scharf bounced back in the second set to win 6-2. E. Scharf led the third set 5-2 and the game 30-15 when Jagdale decided to retire. E. Scharf collected the win for the Red Storm, tying the match at two.

At the second position, Maxwell fought off Schweitzer time and time again. Maxwell dropped the first set, 4-6, but attacked in the second set. After nearly dropping the set, Maxwell continued to battle and eventually won 7-6. In the third set Maxwell would fall 2-6, giving Rutgers the point. The Scarlet Knights led 3-2.

With the pressure on, Lore played a great match. Lore took the first set easily, 6-3 over Zetsu. The second set would prove to be tougher for Lore, who fell 2-6. In the third set, Lore went up 5-2 before dropping two straight games. Leading 5-4 in the third set, Lore played tough to capture the final game. Lores 6-4 win in the third set, tied the match at three-all.

The sixth position would be the deciding match. Nikhil Teppara (Mississauga, Canada) won the first set 6-4 over Muscatiello. Muscatiello would take the second set, 4-6. The third set was the deciding factor in the team match. Teppara struggled in the third set while battling leg cramps. Muscatiello would go up 2-1 in the third and not look back. Down 5-1, Teppara battled for points, but was unable to seal the win. Teppara fell 6-4, 4-6, 1-6 in the match. Rutgers took the final point for a 4-3 victory.

The Red Storm will play Boston College tomorrow at 3 PM for fifth place in the BIG EAST. Boston College lost 4-0 to Virginia Tech in first round action today. During the regular season, St. Johns defeated BC, 4-3 at Chestnut Hill, Mass.