April 21, 2004

Storrs, Conn. - The St. John's University women's tennis team improved to 5-3 in the BIG EAST and 11-5 overall with a 5-2 win over Connecticut.

The Red Storm got the early 1-0 lead after sweeping all three doubles matches from the Huskies. Allison Davidson (Cedar Falls, Iowa) and Lauren Lorenzetti (Northfield, N.J.) starting things off for the Red Storm, beating Jennifer LoRusso and Barbara Schumsky 8-6 at the No. 2 spot. At the No. 3 spot Kristina Bothova (Bratislava, Slovakia) and Jennifer Liantonio (West Hempstead, N.Y.) clinched the first point for St. John's with a convincing 8-1 win over Christine Burek and Ashley Petruzzi. Hande Gorur (Istanbul, Turkey) and Lauren Leo (Staten Island, N.Y.) won their match 7-4 in a tiebreaker to beat Whitney Simcik and Alison Adamski 9-8 at the No. 1 spot.

"Our doubles play has been so dominant this season, particularly Jennifer's (Liantonio) play with partner Kristina (Bothova) at No. 3," said Head Coach Gemma Alexander-Mozeak. "Getting that first point and the early lead is a crucial part of our strategy and has paid off for us throughout the season."

Gorur continued her strong play into her singles match, where she won 6-2, 6-4 in the No. 1 spot. Bothova followed suit, defeating LoRusso in a hard fought battle, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 at the No. 2 spot giving St. John's a 3-0 advantage. In a tight match at the No.3 spot, Schumsky 6-7,2-6 defeated Davidson making the score 3-1 in favor of St. John's. At the No.4 spot Leo defeated Adamski 6-4, 6-3 and was followed by a win from Lorenzetti at the No.5 spot to close out the match for the Red Storm.

"We've played extremely well on the road this season," added Mozeak. "We have a focused and committed approach to our game and our tough road schedule has allowed us to play our best tennis."

The Red Storm will play their final regular season match of the season on Sunday, April 25 against Providence at noon.