Seton Hall University
St. John's
Tennis Edged by St. John's, 4-2
4/19/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
TAMPA, FLA. – The 2012-13 season came to an end on Friday for the Seton Hall tennis team as the Pirates were outlasted by 11th-seeded St. John’s, 4-2, in a match that spanned almost four hours as part of consolation bracket play at the 2013 BIG EAST Championship.
SHU finished the regular season with five team victories and entered the tournament as the #14 seed, moving into the consolation bracket after falling 4-0 to #3 Louisville on Thursday.
In the team’s second matchup with the Red Storm in a six-day span, the Pirates made a strong push for their first win at the conference championship since going 2-1 in Tampa to close the 2007 spring season.
STJ took the doubles point, winning first at #2 and clinching the point by coming out on top at #3 to carry a 1-0 lead into singles competition.
St. John’s senior Ksenia Mikhaylova topped freshman Alex Landert (Naples, Fla.) at No. 4 to push the advantage to 2-0 in favor of the Red Storm but junior Rocio Portela (Demetrio Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) soon pulled one back for SHU, delivering arguably her finest singles performance of the season.
Up against a player in Diamond Adams who had scored for STJ when the two teams met last week in the regular season finale, Portela surrendered only two games during a commanding 6-1, 6-1 victory from the #2 slot. The win capped the Puerto Rico native’s best season in a Seton Hall uniform to date, as she closes 2013 with a career-high eight singles wins to her credit.
Despite a bout with flu like symptoms, sophomore Madison Shoemaker (Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia) was once again present in the singles lineup, finishing the season as one of two Pirates to play in every dual match. Shoemaker could not overcome Gvantsa Robakidze however, falling 3-6, 6-7 (3) at #5.
With St. John’s holding a 3-1 edge, the Pirates needed to run the table in the remaining three matches to stave off elimination.
Freshman Julia Keenan (Greenland, N.H.) obliged, logging an impressively gritty comeback victory at #3 to cut the deficit to 3-2. Keenan did not win a game in the first set of her match with STJ junior Yanita Arnaudova, but bounced back to capture the second set, 6-2. Keenan comfortably put away Arnaudova in the decisive frame, doubling her up and claiming a 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 win.
With the match result still in the air, action wore on simultaneously in #1 and #6 singles.
Junior Chloe Sher (Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong) bested Nevena Selakovic, 7-6 (4) in the first set from the top spot while senior Karina Cordero (Maracay Estado Aragua, Venezuela) came up short in the opening frame in her matchup with Terri Thomas.
SHU saw its fortunes reversed in the second set of each match, as both were extended to a third and decisive set. Before Cordero and Thomas began theirs however, Selakovic topped Sher to clinch the match for the Red Storm.
The loss was just the second in 11 completed matches against BIG EAST competition for Sher, who ends the season as SHU’s wins leader for the third consecutive year. The Hong Kong native had also previously defeated Selakovic, who ranks first in victories for St. John’s, during their lone regular season matchup and in two consecutive meetings dating back to spring 2012.
Cordero scored the Pirates’ other point in the 5-2 loss to STJ last week, also playing at #6. She closes her career in blue and white with over 30 victories in both singles and doubles.
Play at the tournament will continue through Sunday when the conference champion will be crowned.
2013 BIG EAST ChampionshipTampa, Fla.
#14 Seton Hall 2, #11 St. John's 4
Doubles
1. Rocio Portela/Chloe Sher (SHU) vs. Ksenia Mikhaylova/Nevena Selakovic (STJ), DNF
2. Yanita Arnaudova/Gvantsa Robakidze (STJ) def. Julia Keenan/Madison Shoemaker (SHU), 8-1
3. Diamond Adams/Terri Thomas (STJ) def. Anna Guryanova/Alex Landert (SHU), 8-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3
Singles
1. Nevena Selakovic (STJ) def. Chloe Sher (SHU), 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-1
2. Rocio Portela (SHU) def. Diamond Adams (STJ), 6-1, 6-1
3. Julia Keenan (SHU) def. Yanita Arnaudova (STJ), 0-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. Ksenia Mikhaylova (STJ) def. Alex Landert (SHU), 6-1, 6-3
5. Gvantsa Robakidze (STJ) def. Madison Shoemaker (SHU), 6-3, 7-6 (3)
6. Karina Cordero (SHU) vs. Terri Thomas (STJ), DNF
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 5, 3, 1
