Rutgers Tennis Opens BIG EAST Championships With St. John's
Apr 16 | Women's Tennis
2013 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (April 16, 2013) - The Rutgers women's tennis team received the No. 6 seed in the upcoming BIG EAST Championships and will face 11th-seeded St. John's in the first round on Thursday, April 18 in Tampa, Fla., at noon, the league office announced. The Scarlet Knights concluded the regular season by winning three of four conference matches.
"We are really looking forward to the BIG EAST Championships," said 10th-year head coach Benjamin Bucca. "We ended the regular season on a high note, especially with our play this past Saturday against Georgetown. We are entering the tournament as we should, confident with a positive spirit. Every match at the Championships is a battle and certainly we will be ready for St. John's."
The 15-team tournament will be hosted at USF on the Varsity Courts from April 18-21. Each team is guaranteed at least two matches, as a loss sends the squad to the consolation bracket.
Rutgers finished the regular season with a 13-7 record, including a 7-2 mark in the BIG EAST. The Scarlet Knights are coming off a sweep, their sixth of the season, over league-opponent Georgetown on April 13.
Freshman Gina Li (Hillsborough, N.J.) leads Rutgers into the Championships with a 15-5 record, dropping just one conference match (8-1) this season. Junior Vanessa Petrini (Stamford, Conn.) has compiled an 11-9 mark in her No. 1 singles spot. Freshman Lindsey Kayati (Monroeville, N.J.) is second on the team with 13 wins on the campaign.
St. John's (10-9, 4-3 BIG EAST) is coming off three-straight wins, including two league opponents. Most recently, the Red Storm downed Providence (April 14), 6-1, and previously beat Seton Hall (April 13), 5-2. Earlier this season, the Scarlet Knights earned a 5-2 victory at St. John's on April 4. First-year head coach Taka Bertrand is at the helm.
The winner of the contest will take on either No. 3 Louisville or No. 14 Seton Hall on Friday, April 19.
Last season, Rutgers downed Cincinnati in the opening round of the BIG EAST Championships before falling to Notre Dame.
Click here for BIG EAST Women's Tennis Championship Central.
Seeding
1. Notre Dame
2. USF
3. Louisville
4. Syracuse
5. DePaul
6. Rutgers
7. Georgetown
8. Marquette
9. Cincinnati
10. Pittsburgh
11. St. John's
12. Providence
13. Connecticut
14. Seton Hall
15. Villanova
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