DePaul men’s tennis defeats Butler in semifinals, will look to win first Big East championship
DePaul junior Vito Tonejc won his doubles and singles match during the semifinals on Sunday.
The DePaul men’s tennis team is still searching for its first ever Big East championship.
On Monday, the Blue Demons will get their fourth chance to win that elusive first title in program history. After defeating Butler 5-0 in the semifinals on Sunday, DePaul will face No. 2 St. John’s in the Big East championship game.
DePaul previously reached the title game in 2009, 2014 and 2018. But this might be the Blue Demons’ best chance of winning their first title, mainly because of the momentum that they are playing with entering Monday.
The one-seeded Blue Demons have yet to lose a point in the Big East Tournament, defeating Georgetown 4-0 and Butler 5-0. In total, DePaul has won its last five matches, spanning back to April 5.
DePaul hasn’t had much trouble so far in this year’s Big East Tournament, especially on Sunday. The day began with the Blue Demons taking both doubles points, which put the rest of the team in a good spot heading into singles.
Luuk Wassenaar won the first singles point after sweeping the first two sets over Borja Miralles. Tripp Tuff repeated the same result with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Filip Tensing.
And then the No. 1 singles player, Vito Tonejc, delivered the final blow to Butler. After losing the first set 4-6, Tonejc would go on to win the next two sets, giving the Blue Demons a 5-0 victory over the Bulldogs.
Monday’s match against St. John’s will be the first time that both teams will play each other this season. With a win, DePaul will secure a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
