NEW YORK—The seeds and quarterfinal matchups for the 2021 BIG EAST Championships Presented by JEEP were announced on Tuesday afternoon and Villanova (9-10) drew the #6 seed in the conference tournament which gets underway later this week at the Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center in Cayce, S.C. Awaiting the Wildcats will be #3 seed Marquette (9-6) and the teams will face each other in a quarterfinal match at 5 p.m. on Friday evening. The winner advances to the semifinal round against the winner of a match between #2 seed St. John's and #7 seed Xavier.
In the midst of an unusual and at times disjointed spring season, a young Villanova team has taken significant steps over the course of the year. The most frequent singles lineup for the Wildcats features four freshmen and two sophomores, with three of those players and two other underclassmen also getting playing a major role in doubles. In all, 101 of the team's 111 singles matches this season (90.9%) have been played by student-athletes in their first or second year of eligibility; that includes 65 matches (58.6%) played by true freshmen.
Villanova has been led by freshmen
Josh Robinson (Potomac, Md.) and
Eitan Khromchenko (Manalapan, N.J.) who have each gone 10-7 on the year. Robinson is 9-7 at No. 2 singles and Khromchenko is 9-7 in the No. 3 lineup spot. Two other freshmen –
Anthony Prokurat (Manalapan, N.J.) and
Ryan Nguyen (Oakton, Va.) – also have winning records in their first collegiate seasons. Prokurat is 9-8 overall, including 5-4 in the No. 5 spot and 4-2 at No. 6 singles. Nguyen has gone 8-6 on the year and has been a steady presence in the sixth spot with a 6-3 record there.
Sophomores
Alex Kim (Cary, N.C.) and
Daniel Cheng (Los Angeles, Calif.) have also been mainstays for the Wildcats. Kim has played almost exclusively in the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles. He has already emerged as one of the veterans of the young Villanova roster after he won 14 singles matches as a freshman last season. Cheng has won seven matches this season, six of which have come in the No. 4 lineup spot.
Even with so many young players on the team, the Wildcats are not without upperclassman contributions. Junior
Matthew Jones (Dallas, Texas) has combined with Robinson to form Villanova's most successful doubles team on the year. The pair has gone 12-5 overall while tallying at least one win at each of the three doubles positions. They are 6-3 at No. 2 doubles and 5-1 in the third spot. Jones is now 28-13 in doubles matches during his collegiate career, including 15-5 in dual matches. Senior
Daniel Martinez (Coral Gables, Fla.) has teamed with Kim for a 3-3 record at No. 1 doubles on the year. Martinez owns 57 career victories, going 25-17 in singles matches and 32-27 in doubles.
Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center is the host of the BIG EAST Championships for the fifth consecutive year. The facility offers 30 lighted world-class courts with a championship-sized stadium court that has a viewing capacity of approximately 500 spectators. There are seven dedicated 38' courts for 8 & Under Tennis. Courts are complete with a small central gazebo, iced water coolers and electrical outlets on every court for ball-machine use.
Seeds for the conference championships were determined by a committee that reviewed each team's regular season schedule, ITA rankings, results against BIG EAST and common non-conference opponents and wins/losses against ranked foes.
The Men's and Women's Championship matches will be streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) Presented by SoFi on YouTube and FloSports. John Fanta and Joe Gentry will host whip-around coverage from the six championship courts. The Men's Championship broadcast begins at 9 a.m. on Sunday, and the Women's Championship coverage starts at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
There is no charge for admission to the tournament. Merchandise is available for purchase through Shop.BIGEAST.com.
