April 23, 2005

Tampa, FL - The No. 4 seeded St. John's women's tennis team beat No. 2 Boston College 4-0 in the BIG EAST Tournament consolation finals, leaving the Red Storm in third place. The win marks the first time St. John's has finished in the top-three since finishing tied for third in 1989.

St. John's put the match away with only a minor rain delay, as the storm clouds rolled into the Tampa area. After pulling ahead 1-0 with a doubles win, St. John's quickly won three consecutive straight-set matches, including the decisive win at the No. 3 position by Lauren Leo.

Leo teamed up with freshman Mariana Chachua at the No. 2 doubles position and took the match 8-3. Boston College won the No. 2 match, but Kristina Bothova and Barbora Blahatiakova combined for an 8-5 win at the No. 3 position to give the Red Storm the advantage headed into singles action.

Playing at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions, respectively, Hande Gorur and Allison Davidson controlled their matches, winning 6-1 and 6-2. In the decisive match, Leo cruised through the first set, winning 6-1, and after BC's Linsdey Nash broke Leo's serve, she bounced back to win the second set 6-4.

After dropping her first set, Blahatiakova came back to win the second 6-3 and was leading 2-0 in the third when the match ended. Boston College's Morgan Landes was leading in the second set over Bothova at the No. 2 position and Chachua was tied at four-all in the second set versus Caitlin Arnould at No. 6.

The No. 1 seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish won the championship over Syracuse. The Irish will advance to the NCAA Tournament

The Red Storm's season concludes with a 12-5 overall record.