CAYCE, S.C. – The second-seeded DePaul Blue Demons defeated the reigning champions, #1 St. John’s, 4-2 to win the 2024 BIG EAST Men’s Tennis Championship Presented by JEEP. The title victory is DePaul’s third in four years.
The Blue Demons earn the BIG EAST’s automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship. They will learn their first and second round fate during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, April 29, at 6:00 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
Matteo Iaquinto was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. The junior contributed two victories at No. 3 doubles with partner Vito Tonejc, besting Villanova, 6-2, in the quarterfinals and Georgetown, 6-1, in the semifinals. He went undefeated in singles play, clinching two matches at No. 4 including the 4-3 Blue Demon victory over Georgetown in the semifinals with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win over Kieran Foster. Iaquinto secured the championship trophy’s return to Chicago with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Danilo Raicevic in the title match.
After dropping the doubles point, the Blue Demons rallied in singles beginning with Sven Moser’s straight-set victory over Armando Sotelo at No. 6 (6-3, 6-3). Tonejc followed on the top court, defeating Bugaj 6-1, 6-4. Pablo Torres Almeida stretched the Blue Demon’s lead to 3-1 at No. 5 singles, besting Ryota Kaneda 6-3, 0-6, 6-0. After a Red Storm rally which brought the match within one (3-2), Iaquinto answered back with the clinch at No. 4.
The runners-up registered the doubles point with wins at No. 1 (Bascon and Carl Gustavson def. Shourya Verma and Jona Gitschel, 6-3) and No. 2 (Kaneda and Adam Groves def. Tonejc and Iaquinto, 6-2). Franscisco Bascon bested Shourya Verma at No. 3 singles (6-4, 4-6, 6-1).