Sports News

Men's Basketball
St. John's University freshman guard Daryll Hill closed out the 2003-04 men's basketball season with impressive performances down the stretch. Hill ranked among the BIG EAST leaders in four different statistical categories.

Hill finished the season averaging a team-high 14.8 points, which ranked 18th in the BIG EAST. He connected on 38.1 percent of his field goals (152-of-399), which ranked 15th in the league. Hill also ranked among the league leaders in assists, handing out 3.74 per game (11th in the league), and steals, grabbing 1.63 per game (tied for 14th in the league).

In BIG EAST games only, Hill was among the dominant players in the league. He averaged 18.2 points per game in BIG EAST games, which ranked seventh in the league. Hill also handed out 4.63 assists in 16 conference games, ranking sixth in the league in that category. In addition, Hill was 14th in the league, hitting 74.2 percent of his free throws (49-of-66).

Hill scored in double figures in 20 of the Red Storm's 27 games, and had eight 20-point games. He finished the season scoring at least 20 points in the last seven games, averaging 23.4 points per game in that span. Hill is the first St. John's player to score at least 20 points in a game in seven-straight since Zendon Hamilton did so in 11 games, the last nine of the 1995-96 season, and the first two of the 1996-97 season.

He finished the season with 400 points, tying him with Malik Sealy for the fifth-most points by a freshman eligible player in St. John's history. Erick Barkley scored 500 points as a freshman to set the mark; Felipe Lopez and Chris Mullin each scored 498 points in their first season, while Reggie Carter (1975-76) tallied 423 points.

Fencing
Ten members of the St. John's men's and women's fencing team qualified for the NCAA Championships after their performances at the NCAA East Regional, held at Columbia University March 7.

The Red Storm men, who finished the season 16-0, qualified six individuals, the maximum of two per weapon, while the women's team, which finished the regular season at 10-6 overall, qualified four individuals for the championships.

The NCAA Championships will be held at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts from Thursday, March 25 to Sunday, March 28. St. John's has finished among the top-five at the NCAA Championships in each of the last eight years.

On the men's side, the Red Storm had two individuals qualify in the sabre, epee and foil. Leading the way in the sabre was senior Darrin Whitmer and junior Sergey Isayenko, who placed third and fourth, respectively, and will advance to the NCAAs. Senior Matthew Cox placed 22nd overall.

In men's epee, junior Arpad Horvath, who won the NCAA title as a freshman, placed East Regional for the second-straight year, while sophomore Josh Guevara placed second, with both fencers advancing. Freshman Ben Bratton placed seventh overall.

In men's foil action, junior Nitai Kfir, who won the East Regional and placed second at NCAAs as a freshman, won the Regional again, and was followed by freshman Henry Kennard who placed third. Freshman Samuel Wunderlich placed sixth overall.

In women's sabre, juniors Julia Gelman and Christina Crane placed second and fifth, respectively, to advance to the NCAAs. Sophomore Kasia Wieronski placed 11th overall.

The Red Storm qualified a pair of women in the foil, led by freshman Amy Delahanty who placed first overall, and sophomore Erszebet Garay who placed second. In women's epee action, sophomore Angelica Miranda placed 23rd overall, but did not qualify for the NCAAs.

Women's Tennis
The St. John's women's tennis team improved won its sixth match in its first eight since the start of the spring season, topping Rutgers on March 7, 4-3. The Red Storm improve to 6-2 overall with the win.
St. John's lost the doubles point, but sophomore Lauren Lorenzetti won a two-hour, three-set match at sixth singles for the deciding point in the match. Lorenzetti lost the first set 4-6, but came back to win the final two sets, 6-3 and 6-2, to clinch the Red Storm's win.

Junior Kristina Bothova won at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-0 and junior Hande Gorur won at second singles, 6-0, 6-0. Junior Allison Davidson dropped a three-set match at third singles, winning the first set 6-4, and losing the final two, 2-6 and 3-6, respectively.