April 20, 2008

Tampa - The No. 4 seed Marquette University men's tennis team (17-7) concluded its 2007-08 campaign with a 4-0 victory over No. 7 seed St. John's at the 2008 BIG EAST Championship Sunday afternoon.

The victory allowed the Golden Eagles to claim fifth place for the second-straight year and the 17 overall victories are the most under fifth-year head coach Steve Rodecap. MU fell to DePaul to open tourney play on Friday before defeating Villanova Saturday.

"I was happy with the way the guys stayed hungry throughout the entire weekend," Rodecap said. "The way Brett (Binkley) concluded his career was impressive. He was all over the court in doubles and was the first one off in singles."

Binkley slid into the No. 6 singles position and produced a quick 6-0, 6-1 decision over STJ's Derek Wallensteen. Sophomore Dusan Medan quickly followed suit with a straight-set win at No. 2.

MU's race for the clinching point came down to a battle between junior Stephen Shao and sophomore Mark Rutherford. Shao had multiple opportunities to finish off his opponent at No. 3 singles, allowing Rutherford to pick up the pace and defeat Asaf Honig 6-4, 6-3 at the No. 5 spot.

Rutherford had match point for the final point on Saturday against Villanova, but was beaten to the punch by Binkley.

Marquette opened play by claiming the doubles point. Junior Trent Hagan and sophomore Niko Boulieris made quick work of their opponent from St. John's, earning an 8-2 decision. MU captured the point when the tandem of Binkley and Rutherford pulled away for an 8-5 win. The duo completed the campaign with a 28-10 overall record.

The Golden Eagles were 16-3 when winning the doubles on the year. Sunday's action capped the careers for MU's trio of seniors; Binkley, Greg Sirotek and Pete Van Lieshout.

Tennis Match Results
St. John's vs Marquette
Apr 20, 2008 at Tampa, Fla.
Marquette 4, St. John's 0
Singles competition:
1. Trent Hagan (MU) vs. Artem Vlasenko (STJ) unfinished
2. Dusan Medan (MU) def. Alex Svetlakov (STJ) 6-0, 6-4
3. Stephen Shao (MU) vs. Gustafo Loza (STJ) unfinished
4. Niko Boulieris (MU) vs. Martin Kosut (STJ) unfinished
5. Mark Rutherford (MU) def. Asaf Honig (STJ) 6-4, 6-3
6. Brett Binkley (MU) def. Derek Wallensteen (STJ) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition:
1. Brett Binkley/Mark Rutherford (MU) def. Artem Vlasenko/Gustafo Loza (STJ) 8-5
2. Stephen Shao/Dusan Medan (MU) vs. Martin Kosut/Alex Svetlakov (STJ) unfinished
3. Trent Hagan/Niko Boulieris (MU) def. Derek Wallensteen/Pavel Cerny (STJ) 8-2
Match Notes:
Marquette 16-7
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles ()