Junior Mike Lampa won the second singles bracket and first doubles bracket to lead the St. John’s men’s tennis team in the Columbia Classic on Oct. 7-9.
After earning the second seed in the second singles bracket, Lampa opened this competitive tournament by defeating Fairleigh Dickinson’s Yuri Gricheno 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (5). After getting that win, Lampa went onto defeat another opponent, Fairfield’s Dennis Zlobinksy 6-1, 6-4. This win sent Lampa into the finals matchup with the bracket’s top seed, Ashok Narayana of Columbia. Lampa defeated Narayana 6-4, 6-3, claiming the singles title and moving onto doubles play.
The third-seeded duo, Lampa and junior Vasko Mladenov, participated in the tournament’s top doubles bracket. They opened play with an 8-2 win over FDU’s Arvis Berzins and Ibrahim Shams and then defeatedPrinceton’s Michael Lin and Yohei Shoji, 8-6 to set up an all-St. John’s final against senior Milo Hauk and sophomore Gustav Kallen.
Hauk and Kallen defeated Columbia’s Nathaniel Gery and John Yetimoglu, 8-5 and Penn’s Zach Katz and Ivan Turudic, 8-4, to advance to the final round.
But they couldn’t get by Lampa and Mladenov, who ended their run with an 8-6 victory.
Hauk also reached the title match of the top singles for the second-straight tournament, but he was unable to defeat the tournament’s top seed, Matija Pecotic of Princeton, in the finals (6-3, 6-2).
Junior Matty Najfeld opened the third singles bracket with two straight-set victories, lost to eventual bracket champion Tizian Bucher of Columbia in straight sets in the semifinals.
After losing their first match, Najfeld and senior Greg Streat paired together and claimed the third doubles bracket consolation title. They defeated Fordham’s J.J. Tauil and Adrei Kulak, 8-1 and Monmouth’s Laurence Heads and Carl Jedlinkski, 8-4,
The final fall tournament of the season will be Oct. 13th– 17th as the men’s tennis team competes in Ithaca, N.Y. at the annual USTA/ITA Regional Championship on the Cornell University campus.
