April 14, 2008

QUEENS, N.Y. - The BIG EAST Conference announced the fields for the 2008 Tennis Championships on Monday and the St. John's men's team earned the No. 7 seed. The tournament will take place this weekend in Tampa, Fla. on the campus of USF. This is the fourth straight season that the men's squad has qualified for the postseason tournament, as the team finished in third place during the 2007 Championships.

The Red Storm currently sits at 9-10 overall, 2-2 in BIG EAST play, and will take on the second-seeded Louisville Cardinals (16-6, 1-1 BIG EAST) in the opening round on Friday at 9 a.m. on the Andros Dorm Courts. The winner of that match will go on to face the winner of the No. 3 USF/No. 6 Georgetown contest in the quarterfinals on Saturday at noon.

St. John's returns to the courts Tuesday, when the team hosts Monmouth in the regular season finale. First match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on the Courts at St. John's.

2008 BIG EAST Championship Matchups

Play-In Round - Thursday, April 17
No. 8 Villanova vs. No. 9 Connecticut - 9 a.m.

First Round - Friday, April 18
No. 1 Notre Dame vs. Villanova/Connecticut - 9 a.m.
No. 4 Marquette vs. No. 5 DePaul - Noon
No. 3 USF vs. No. 6 Georgetown - Noon
No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 7 St. John's - 9 a.m.