After claiming the doubles point, St. John’s University only lost two of the six singles matches to beat Temple, 5-2, on Saturday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York.
Temple’s loss ended its two match winning streak. The Owls won back-to-back matches against Connecticut on March 31 and La Salle on Friday.
The Owls (11-8, 1-1 American Athletic Conference) were without both senior Thomas Sevel and junior Uladzimir Dorash for the fourth consecutive match.
The Red Storm (13-5, 1-0 Big East Conference) won both doubles matches. Sophomores Eric Biscoveanu and Francisco Bohorquez lost to St. John’s juniors Luka Sucevic and Alan Nunez Aguilera 6-1. In the other doubles match, sophomore Juan Araoz and freshman Mark Wallner lost to St. John’s juniors Andrei Crapcenco and Daniel Skripnik 6-3.
In singles play, Araoz and Wallner gave Temple its only two points. Araoz defeated Nunez Aguilera, 6-4, 7-6, 10-5 in the second flight. Wallner beat St. John’s freshman Igor Maslov, 6-4, 6-2.
Junior Alberto Caceres Casas lost to Sucevic, 7-6, 6-2 in the first flight. Before that loss, Caceres Casas won four of his last five matches.
Temple’s three other singles players also lost in straight sets. Freshman Michael Haelen lost to Crapcenco 6-3, 6-2 in the third flight, while Biscoveanu lost to St. John’s junior Dusan Vukicevic 6-4, 6-2. Bohorquez fell to Skripnik, 6-4, 6-2 in the fourth flight.
The Owls will face conference opponent Memphis next Saturday in Tennessee. The Tigers (15-4, 3-0 The American) are ranked No. 17 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll and have won 10 consecutive matches.
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