The St. John’s women’s tennis team advanced to the BIG EAST semifinals after defeating Villanova, 4-1, on April 17 in Cayce, South Carolina.
This victory allows St. John’s to continue its postseason run and sets up a semifinal match against second-seeded DePaul. The result also highlights the team’s strong performance in both doubles and singles play.
St. John’s secured the opening point by sweeping doubles matches. Alicia Gomez and Abi Redman won their match on the No. 1 court with a score of 6-0 over Emily Callahan and Maggie Gehrig, while Noemi Babikova and Victoria Papadopoulou followed with a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles against Lauren Monti and Jenna Stevens.
In singles competition, Charlotta Buss gave St. John’s an early lead with a straight-set win at No. 5 singles (6-3, 6-1) over Alina Kornyeva. After Villanova earned its only point at No. 3 singles, Babikova responded for St. John’s with a decisive victory at her position (6-0, 6-3) against Gehrig to put her team ahead by two points.
Redman clinched the overall match for St. John’s on the top court after winning in straight sets—7(8)-6(6), 6-3—securing the Red Storm’s place in the next round.
Looking ahead, St. John’s will face DePaul in Saturday’s semifinal at Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center beginning at 1 p.m., as they aim to overcome DePaul’s historical edge in postseason meetings.
