March 31, 2005

Queens, NY - The St. John's University women's tennis team won their sixth straight match overall and third straight BIG EAST contest this afternoon with a 7-0 sweep of West Virginia at Alley Pond Tennis Center. With the win, the Red Storm improve to 6-3 overall and 3-1 in the league.

The Red Storm took the opening point by taking two of three of the doubles matches. Junior Lauren Leo (Staten Island, NY) and newcomer Mariana Chachua (Brooklyn, NY) battled Stacey Percival and Natalia Prinz in the No. 2 slot, edging the Mountaineer duo, 9-7. St. John's earned the doubles point with a win at No. 3, as junior Barbora Blahutiakova (Bratislova, Slovakia) and senior Kristina Bothova (Bratislova, Slovakia) beat Kelly Walsh and Catherine Koontz easily, 8-1.

St. John's would go on to sweep all six singles matches, beginning with straight set wins at No. 1 through 5. Blahutiakova (6-1, 6-4) and Bothova (6-3, 6-3) cruised to victory, followed by Leo at No. 3, who edged Monica Lyskawa, 7-4 in the first set tiebreaker, went on to win the second set, 6-1. Seniors Hande Gorur (Istanbul, Turkey) and Allison Davidson (Cedar Falls, IA) continued the solid play by winning 6-1, 6-0 and 6-3, 6-4, at No. 4 and 5, respectively. Closing out singles action was Chachua, who rebounded after dropping the first set 3-6, to win the final two sets, 6-2, 6-4.

The Red Storm look for their seventh straight victory on Sunday, April 3, when they take on Long Island University at the National Tennis Center. Doubles actionis scheduled to begin at 11 am.