JAMAICA, N.Y. - The St. John's University men's tennis team beat West Virginia, 4-3, on Sunday, and finished in third place overall at the BIG EAST Conference Championships, held in Coral Gables, Florida. The men's competition was won by Miami, while Notre Dame finished in second place.

It was the second-straight year the Red Storm men's team finished in third place in the tournament. In its first year under head coach Van Winitsky, St. John's finished 10-6 overall and 7-0 in the BIG EAST. The back-to-back third place finishes are the best for the Red Storm since taking second place three years in a row from 1993-95.

The third-seeded Red Storm, who received a first round bye, opened up play with a 4-1 win over sixth-seeded Connecticut. St. John's won four singles matches and two doubles matches en route to the win. Junior Eric Scharf (Yonkers, N.Y./Roosevelt), posted a 6-0, 6-1 win over Drew Broderick at No. 1 singles, while senior Jaideep Shetty (New Delhi, India/St. Columbus) won at No. 2, beating Mike Furman, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

The win advanced St. John's to a semifinal match with nationally-ranked Notre Dame, who posted a 4-0 win over the Red Storm on Saturday.

In Sunday's third-place match, West Virginia took two of three doubles matches, but the Red Storm won four of six singles matches, edging the Mountaineers, 4-3.

Scharf beat James Kent, 6-1, 6-2, at the top position, while Shetty beat Mike Dektas, 6-3, 7-5. Senior Andres Vainer (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Impacto) posted a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2) win over Ion Vlad at third singles, and junior Brian Scharf (Yonkers, N.Y./Roosevelt) sealed the win, taking a 6-3, 6-2 decision over Roe Vant Mantel at sixth singles.

Scharf, who will have a shot at making the NCAA Championships as an individual, finishes the regular season with a 33-3 record.

The St. John's women's team dropped a 5-0 decision to Boston College on Thursday, April 20 at Crandon Park in Coral Gables.