The St. John’s men’s tennis team will open its BIG EAST Tournament title defense against Villanova on Friday, April 15, with the match scheduled for a 9 a.m. start at the Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center.
This matchup holds significance as St. John’s is entering postseason play as the tournament’s top seed for the fifth time in eight years, having previously achieved this position in 2019, 2022, 2024, and 2025. The Red Storm has reached the championship match each of the last six seasons under Head Coach Dillon Pottish.
St. John’s enters with a strong record of 16-5 overall and an undefeated mark of 4-0 in conference play. Key players include Semen Agynskyy, who has posted a combined dual-match record of 28-5 this season—including a doubles record of 15-2 primarily with Adam Groves—and Radomir Tomic, who holds a singles record of 14-4 and has contributed to a doubles mark of 10-4 alongside teammates Danilo Raicevic and Sergej Zivkovic.
Villanova comes into the tournament as the eighth seed with an overall record of 5-15 and winless in conference play at 0-4. The Wildcats have lost their last seven matches, most recently falling to Georgetown by a score of 6-1. Last year’s quarterfinal between these teams ended with St. John’s sweeping Villanova without dropping a set; since their first meeting in 2004, St. John’s holds an all-time series lead at eighteen wins to none.
The winner will advance to Saturday’s semifinal round against either Georgetown or Butler.
St. John’s Red Storm Men’s Tennis competes in NCAA Division I athletics within the Big East Conference according to its official website. The program is affiliated with St. John’s University and operates as part of its collegiate athletics department according to university sources. The Red Storm mascot represents all university athletic teams including men’s tennis as reported by official sources.
