Jamaica, N.Y. - The St. Johns womens tennis team dropped a hard fought match this afternoon to BIG EAST foe Rutgers University 4-3, at the Alley Pond Tennis Center. The loss drops their overall record to 2-2, and 1-1 in conference play.

In #1 doubles, the duo of senior Nataliya Kostova (Sophia, Bulgaria) and sophomore Kristina Bothova (Bratislava, Slovakia) defeated the Rutgers pair of Andrea Weckstein and Carissa Sommerlad by a score of 8-3 for the Red Storms only victory in the doubles matches.

In singles play, Kostova and Bothova both won their matches, Kostova over Weckstein 6-4, 7-5, and Bothova over Sommerlad 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. In the #5 singles spot, freshman Lauren Lorenzetti (Northfield, N.J.) also earned a victory against Kaitlin Link 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. This match shows the great strides made by St. Johns after losing last years match to Rutgers by a score 7-0.

St. John's returns to action on, March 23, when they travel to West Virginia for a conference match begin at 11 a.m.