Four Teams Set the Field for #BEtennis Championship
No. 3 Butler - No. 7 Georgetown | No. 1 DePaul - No. 5 Marquette
No. 2 DePaul - No. 6 Seton Hall | No. 1 St. John's - No. 4 Xavier
CAYCE, South Carolina – Following a thrilling semifinal round, the 2017 BIG EAST Tennis Championship presented by Jeep field is set with No. 1 St. John’s facing No.2 DePaul on the women’s side and No. 3 Butler challenging No. 5 Marquette in the men’s bracket.
The men opened the semifinals at 9 a.m. and No. 3 Butler was the first to secure a spot in the title match after a three hour battle against No. 7 Georgetown. The Hoyas got off to a strong start by winning a huge doubles point, but Butler responded by winning the first three completed matches to take a 3-1 lead. Georgetown tied the match up with wins at No. 1 and No. 6., leaving the team result in the hands of Butler’s Mikheil Khmiadashvili and Georgetown’s Marco Lam on court No. 3. The two extended into three sets, but Khmiadashvili would be the one to pull through with a 6-2, 6-7,6-3 victory to propel the Bulldogs into Sunday’s championship match. It will be the first BIG EAST championship match appearance for Butler, which entered the 2017 tournament having never advanced beyond the quarterfinals.
In the second semifinal, No. 5 Marquette upset top-seeded DePaul in what would be an epic four-hour match. The Blue Demons started the match by grabbing the doubles point, but the Golden Eagles would rally back in singles action. Marquette claimed courts 4,6 and 2 while DePaul seized No. 1 and No. 5, once again leaving the team decision to court No. 3; this time in the hands of DePaul’s Alex Galoustian and Marquette’s Greg Anderson. Galoustian would take the first set 7-5, but Anderson would go the distance as he rallied to steal the last two sets 7-5, 7-5.
In the afternoon, the women continued with two more tightly-contested matchups as No.2 DePaul faced No. 6 Seton Hall and No.1 St. John’s went up against No. 4 Xavier.
In the Blue Demon – Pirate matchup, Seton Hall got off to an early lead by earning the doubles point. Relentless, DePaul rallied to win the first four single sets, taking the match 4-1. DPU’s Patricia Lancranjan notched the first point at No. 3 with a 6-4, 6-1 decision over Melody Taal, followed by Florence Abbot, who collected the second after defeating Kristin Cerpina 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6. Keisha Clousing and Aspasia Avgeri earned the final two points for the Blue Demons with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No.2 and a 3-6,6-3,6-2 victory at No.5, respectively.
The St. John’s – Xavier matchup recreated their 2015 semis match and for a second time, the Johnnies came out on top 4-3.
St. John's jumped out to 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point but Xavier evened the match with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3 from Lauren Ghidotti. The Red Storm took a 3-1 lead with wins at No. 2 and No. 1 singles but the Musketeers didn't go down without a fight as Xavier bounced back with two wins at No.6 and No.4 With the match tied 3-3, the decision was left to St. John’s Inclan Solis and Xavier’s Sophia Abelson at court No.5. The duo kept the match close as Solis won the first set 7-5 and Abelson secured the second set 6-4, but Solis ultimately captured the win with a 6-3 final set.
The action will continue on Championship Sunday with Butler and Marquette in the men’s final at 9 a.m. followed by St. John’s and DePaul in the women’s title match at 12:30 p.m.
Check @BIGEASTChamps, #BIGEASTtennis along with the Championship Central for the most up-to-date information on the 2016 BIG EAST Tennis Championship.