April 27, 2004

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The BIG EAST Conference has announced that the St. John's University men's tennis team has been selected to participate in the 2004 BIG EAST Tournament, held at the Neil Schiff Tennis Complex in Coral Gables, Fla.

The Red Storm, who are 11-9 overall and finished 5-1 against BIG EAST opponents this season, will enter the tournament as the fourth seed and are scheduled to face #5 Rutgers (6-11 overall, 4-1 BIG EAST) in the first round on Thursday, April 29 at 9:00 a.m.

St. John's has won two BIG EAST Championships in tennis, the first in 1980 and again in 1991. Since the tournament changed to a six-team format in 2001, the Red Storm have two fifth place finishes, including a tie for fifth with Boston College last year.

Sophomore David Nylen (Orebro, Sweden) boasts a 16-4 record for St. John's, including a 15-1 mark at the No. 2 spot. Freshman Louis Desmarteaux (Thornhill, Ontario) has played the No. 1 spot for the majority of the season for St. John's and enters the tournament with a 12-6 record in the top line, and is 15-7 overall. Claudio Halim (Jakarta, Indonesia) is 12-6 on the season, with a 7-5 record at No. 6, while Morgan Bauer (New York, N.Y.), who is slated for the fifth line, is 10-8 overall. Aurelio Di Zazzo (Ris-Organgis, France) and Nick Stocker (Norwich, England) round out the middle of the Red Storm line, playing the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively. Di Zazzo is 8-7 overall this season and 7-5 at No. 3, while Stocker, who has been forced to the sidelines with injuries for a portion of the season, is 5-7 overall and 4-3 at No. 4.

Earlier this season, St. John's beat the Scarlet Knights 5-2 in Piscataway, N.J. The Red Storm took the doubles point, as the No. 2 pair of Stocker/Goldberg and the No. 3 team of Nylen/Bauer took their matches 8-5 and 9-8, respectively for the first point of the match. Nylen won his match 6-2, 6-1 over Gordy Milchvisky at No. 2, before Stocker, Bauer and Halim each won in straight-sets at No. 4, 5 and 6.

The winner of the St. John's/Rutgers match in round one will face #1 Virginia Tech on Friday, April 30 at 9:00 a.m.