FLUSHING, N.Y.—In a match played indoors at the USTA National Tennis Center, Villanova (5-6) faced a BIG EAST opponent for the first time this season and was defeated in a 7-0 decision by St. John's (7-0) on Wednesday afternoon. The host Red Storm won the three doubles matches to begin the day and then swept the singles matches in straight sets.
 
The doubles team of junior Matthew Jones (Dallas, Texas) and freshman Josh Robinson (Potomac, Md.) moved up to the No. 1 spot for the first time this season and was dealt a 6-1 setback by Ignacio Garcia and Giuseppe De Camelis. Garcia later notched a singles win over Robinson with a 6-2, 6-3 victory in the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Jones and Robinson have a winning record on the season at 6-4 and have now played in each of the three doubles matches at least once on the year.
 
Villanova debuted two new doubles pairings in the No. 2 and No. 3 matches against St. John's, as senior Daniel Martinez (Coral Gables, Fla.) teamed with freshman Anthony Prokurat (Manalapan, N.J.) in the No. 2 spot and sophomore Justin Suarez (Manila, Philippines) was paired with freshman Eitan Khromchenko (Manalapan, N.J.) in the No. 3 match. Martinez and Prokurat were defeated, 7-5, while Suarez and Khromchenko fell by a score of 6-3.
 
Sophomore Daniel Cheng (Los Angeles, Calif.) played the most competitive of the Wildcats singles matches in the No. 4 spot in the lineup. He was defeated by Charlie James in a narrow 6-2, 7-6 decision. Sophomore Alex Kim (Cary, N.C.) fell by set scores of 6-4 and 6-2 to Djuro Opacic in the top spot and Khromchenko lost 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 3 match.
 
Rounding out the lineup were Prokurat in the No. 5 singles match and freshman Ryan Nguyen (Oakton, Va.) in the No. 6 spot. Prokurat fell to Evan Felcher (6-1, 6-2) while Nguyen lost to De Camelis (6-2, 6-1).
 
Villanova returns to action to take on Drexel on Thursday morning at 11 a.m.