After dropping two straight on the road, the St. John’s men’s tennis team continued their trek across the collegiate landscape, defeating the Black Knights of Army this weekend. St. John’s improved to 3-3 on the season with the 4-3 win over the Knights (2-5).
Sophomore Alex Svetlakov and freshman Derek Wallensteen gave St. John’s the one point lead, winning against Army’s Johnny Lucero and Bruno Lucivero by the score of 8-6. The Knights quickly regrouped in the second spot as John Houghton and Phil Muhawi beat Desmarteaux and Martin Kosut, 8-3. In the final round, senior Tom Green and sophomore Arteem Vlasenko handily defeated Mike Good and Eddie Kang, 8-1.
In singles competition, senior captain Desmarteaux brought St. John’s to a swift 2-0 lead, making quick work of Houghton (6-1, 6-2). Good and Lucero, however, made the contest interesting, tying the contest 2-2 with their victories over Wallensteen and Kosut in the third and fifth positions. Army took the one-point lead in the fourth singles, as Kang topped Svetlakov (6-2, 7-5). Nonetheless, the Red Storm showed their resolve, as Vlasenko edged past Muhawi (6-2, 7-6).
With the score tied 3-3 and the game on the line, the veteran Green overpowered Lucivero (7-5, 6-4) to give St. John’s the win.
