This past Friday, St. John’s held their annual Tip-Off event. Students lined up starting at around 6 a.m. in order to obtain tickets for the event. The line continued throughout the day leading up to a few hours before the much anticipated event. 

Tip-Off is always an exciting time for students at St. John’s and it is an essential part of the overall student experience. Seeing thousands of students pack into Carnesecca Arena Friday night was without a doubt a positive sign heading into basketball season. The event concluded with Juice WRLD’s much anticipated performance which certainly did not disappoint. Tip-Off was a great time this year (for those who did not sell their ticket). The St. John’s student body was able to come together for a night of entertainment and to support both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. This kind of support should continue heading into the anticipated basketball season.

For the men’s team, under newly hired head coach Mike Anderson, the Red Storm have a lot to prove heading into a new era. Although the team is sure to have it’s growing pains, they could potentially turn some heads, especially once Big East play comes around. 

The women’s basketball team is sure to win more than their fair share of games this season as they were ranked second in the Big East preseason poll. Head coach Joe Tartamella’s lineup features its fair share of returning players who look to make a run for the Big East title as well as a possible NCAA Tournament bid. 

With basketball season coming up, the Torch will be releasing its annual Courtside basketball magazine on Nov. 4. The magazine includes essential coverage before the season starts, as well as in-depth features of star players on both teams. Look out for the magazine on stands and don’t miss out on information you can’t get anywhere else. 

Finally, the St. John’s Men’s Soccer team was ranked in the RPI rankings as the best team in the nation while also being ranked in the fourth spot by the United Soccer Coaches poll (see the story on the back page). For the hundreds of students who have packed Belson Stadium for men’s soccer games this season, you can attest to just how good this team is. They have a lot of talent which has been reflected by their 12-1 regular season record and their 5-0 conference record. On Wednesday night, the Red Storm take on rival Georgetown University who were ranked second in RPI. This is going to be the game of the year, so the St. John’s student body should do what it has done the past six home games. Fans need to pack Belson on Wednesday night and provide an electric atmosphere that the men’s soccer team can feed off of in order to keep the Red Storm surging into postseason play. As far as St. John’s athletics goes, the Torch’s coverage has been nonstop, with something new and exciting happening in every sport on the Queens campus.