2008 Woodie Awards
All Eyes on Winning
Gerard Fitzgerald, Staff Writer
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Sports
Men's Tennis
Although the St. John's men's tennis club finished 2007 with a 13-9 record and a fourth place finish in the Big East Championships, the team is preparing itself for a strong 2008 campaign. After close losses to fourth-ranked Notre Dame and South Florida in the Big East Tournament, the team is ready to make some noise during its 2008 campaign.
The Storm was 5-7 at the midpoint of last season, but finished strong with a 9-2 record in its next 11 games. Unfortunately, the momentum came to a halt once the conference tournament began.
Head Coach Eric Rebhuhn has some youthful exuberance to work with in the locker room, with half of the roster being underclassmen. Losing team captain Louis Desmarteaux, who captured All Big-East honors in 2007 for the third time in his career, will be a bit of a setback. His leadership and experience will have to be replaced by returning international superstar juniors Alex Svetlakov, Jordan Talbot, and Artem Vlasenko. With their polished skills, the trio look to lead the team by example and hold down the court against the toughest of future opponents.
Vlasenko told RedStormSports.com about his favorite moment from his debut Big East tennis season.
"My favorite moment would definitely be defeating the No. 116 player in the nation, Ryan Young from Clemson," said Vlasenko. "Not only was my win huge, but the closeness of the final score of the match against the No. 20 team in the nation was incredible."
He also offered some high hopes for the next couple of months.
"Hopefully I will have an opportunity to play in the All-American tournament. I would like have a great individual season, and hopefully we as a team can reach the goals we set for next season."
After competing in the Columbia Invitational Tournament to warm things up, St. John's will begin official season play against Yale in Woodbridge, Conn. on February 8. Big home matches against Stony Brook, UConn, Monmouth and Villanova highlight the second half of the schedule. Some marquee road battles include trips to South Florida, Florida Atlantic, Georgetown, and
Although the St. John's men's tennis club finished 2007 with a 13-9 record and a fourth place finish in the Big East Championships, the team is preparing itself for a strong 2008 campaign. After close losses to fourth-ranked Notre Dame and South Florida in the Big East Tournament, the team is ready to make some noise during its 2008 campaign.
The Storm was 5-7 at the midpoint of last season, but finished strong with a 9-2 record in its next 11 games. Unfortunately, the momentum came to a halt once the conference tournament began.
Head Coach Eric Rebhuhn has some youthful exuberance to work with in the locker room, with half of the roster being underclassmen. Losing team captain Louis Desmarteaux, who captured All Big-East honors in 2007 for the third time in his career, will be a bit of a setback. His leadership and experience will have to be replaced by returning international superstar juniors Alex Svetlakov, Jordan Talbot, and Artem Vlasenko. With their polished skills, the trio look to lead the team by example and hold down the court against the toughest of future opponents.
Vlasenko told RedStormSports.com about his favorite moment from his debut Big East tennis season.
"My favorite moment would definitely be defeating the No. 116 player in the nation, Ryan Young from Clemson," said Vlasenko. "Not only was my win huge, but the closeness of the final score of the match against the No. 20 team in the nation was incredible."
He also offered some high hopes for the next couple of months.
"Hopefully I will have an opportunity to play in the All-American tournament. I would like have a great individual season, and hopefully we as a team can reach the goals we set for next season."
After competing in the Columbia Invitational Tournament to warm things up, St. John's will begin official season play against Yale in Woodbridge, Conn. on February 8. Big home matches against Stony Brook, UConn, Monmouth and Villanova highlight the second half of the schedule. Some marquee road battles include trips to South Florida, Florida Atlantic, Georgetown, and
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