St. John’s rolls to easy victory over Fordham
Former Rams top recruit get shot to face old squad
St. John’s outlast St. Francis in OT thriller
Will host Kansas in first-ever basketball game at UBS Arena
St. John’s improves to 3-1 on the year
St. John’s topped Fairleigh Dickinson, 87-74, on Saturday night inside Carnesecca Arena to improve to 3-1 on the season.
All five Red Storm starters recorded double figures, including team-high 17-point performances from both Julian Champagnie and Posh Alexander. Champagnie also grabbed 10 boards for his first double-double this season and 12th of his career.
“There are things we can work on both defensively and offensively,” Champagnie said. “We did have some positives along with the negatives. We are going to come back as a group to work on what we need to work on.”
Stef Smith added 14 points and went 8-for-10 from the line, Montez Mathis chipped in 13 points going 6-for-10 from the field, and Joel Soriano finished with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting for the Red Storm.
The win marked the 13th straight non-conference victory at Carnesecca Arena for a St. John’s squad that was playing without injured freshman guard Rafael Pinzon and graduate student Tareq Coburn, who missed the contest with a non-COVID illness.
“We were missing two of our guys that were key from our bench,” said coach Mike Anderson. “I always think our strength is going to be our bench. We didn’t have those guys, and we didn’t have a great shooting night.
St. John’s led by as many as 22 points and kept a double-digit advantage for the majority of its wire-to-wire victory. The Johnnies outscored Fairleigh Dickinson (0-3), 46-24, in the paint and converted 22-of-29 attempts at the free-throw line.
Aaron Wheeler and Dylan Addae-Wusu gave the Red Storm a spark off the bench finishing with eight and six points, respectively. The duo combined to shoot 3-for-5 from distance while Addae-Wusu also handed out a game-high five assists.
St. John’s helped turn the Knights’ over 23 times in the contest and converted the miscues into 27 points. It marked the most turnovers by a Red Storm opponent since DePaul coughed up 24 on February 20 at Carnesecca Arena.
Still, Anderson said there was room for improvement on that side of the ball.
“I always think we can score,” he said. “To me, it was the defense [that was the problem]. Coming into this game, what were our defensive goals? One of them was to, hopefully, keep them in the 50s or 60s and we didn’t get that accomplished,
St. John’s was scheduled to return to action on Tuesday, playing host to St. Francis Brooklyn at 7 p.m.
St. John’s inks two recruits
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
S. JOHN’S PREPARATORY SCHOOL
21-21 Crescent Street
Astoria, NY, 11105
(718) 721-7200
stjohnsprepschool.org
Catholic, Co-Ed
Principal: Maria N. Johnson
Admissions Director: (718) 721-7200 ext. 699
Students: 720
Teachers: 48
Average Class Size: 26
Top 5 or Most Unique Extracurricular Activities: Art, Baseball, Basketball, Catholic Worker, Cheerleading, Chess Club, Coding, Dance, Drama, Golf, Environmental Awareness, Glee Club, Jazz Rock Band, Junior Ladies of Charity, Literary Magazine, Math Club, Model UN, National Honor Society, Photography, Red Cross, Redstorm News, Robotics, Science Olympiad, Soccer, Softball, Speech & Debate, Student Council, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Volleyball, Young Investors and many more.
Open House: Saturday, October 16, from 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. by appointment
Percentage of Seniors Attending College: 100
Top 2021 Seniors Attending: Boston College, Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, CUNY, Dartmouth College, Drexel University, FIT, Fordham University, George Washington University, Harvard University, Howard University, Hofstra, Iona College, Johns Hopkins, New York University, Northeastern, Pace University, Penn State University, Pratt Institute, Princeton University, Queens College, Rensselaer RPI, St. John’s University, Stony Brook University, SUNY, Syracuse University, Vassar College, Wesleyan University
College Credit Courses: Advanced Placement Courses in Biology, Calculus, English Language and Composition, English Literature, European History, Physics, Psychology, Spanish Language and Culture, Statistics, United States History, World History
Admissions Requirements: TACHS Test
School Motto: That they may have life more abundantly.
What makes St. John’s Prep a Top High School? St. John’s Preparatory School is dedicated to promoting academic excellence and to instilling the principles and values of the Catholic faith in a positive, supportive environment. Through an advanced, challenging curriculum, St. John’s Prep focuses on the growth of the individual student.
Students from St. John’s Prep may attend St. John’s University during their senior year through a unique SJP/SJU Baccalaureate Program. They can also take college courses through the College Advancement Program with St. John’s University.
The Campus Life Retreat Program beginning in freshman year helps students learn more about themselves, each other and recognize God in others.
The Performing arts and multi-media program engages students as writers, actors, dancers, designers, directors, musicians, singers and technicians. It fosters creativity, improves confidence and allows them to embrace their self-expression.
Advanced science and technology courses, programs and activities provide a strong foundation for future careers and innovative thinking.
St. John’s ends season on a high note
The St. John’s baseball team used a six-run second inning to end the season on a high note, taking down Villanova, 6-1, on Saturday afternoon at Jack Kaiser Stadium on the Queens campus.
Tyler Roche tossed what was arguably the best outing of his young St. John’s career, allowing just one unearned run over 6.0 innings of work to pick up his first collegiate win.
He scattered three hits and five walks while striking out eight, a season high. The freshman from the Bronx lowered his ERA to 3.44 on the season and made it three straight appearances at home (16.2 IP) without an earned run to end the campaign.
Joe Joe Rodriguez threw a scoreless seventh before Ethan Routzahn struck out three over a pair of one-hit innings.
Following his Sunday performance, Routzahn closed the campaign with a 1.19 ERA, the lowest full-season ERA by a St. John’s pitcher since Thomas Hackimer turned in a 1.17 effort before being selected in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft.
Marty Higgins wrapped a stellar redshirt freshman season by going 3-for-4 with a run scored, his fourth game of the year with three of more hits. Higgins closes the campaign with a team-high .333 batting average.
Justin Folz went yard for a team-high fourth time while Carson Bartels wrapped his collegiate career with a with a two-RBI performance.
David Glancy and Colin Wetterau added singles for St. John’s (19-21, 10-16 Big East).
After the Johnnies went down 1-2-3 in the first, Folz led off the second with a blast off the batter’s eye in center, putting the Red Storm ahead 1-0 in the early going.
With the bases loaded and two outs later in the inning, Bartels hit a slow grounder up the middle that looked like it would be easily picked up by the second baseman for the last out of the inning.
Instead, the ball ricocheted off the bag, shot into right field and allowed a pair of runs to score, pushing the St. John’s lead to 3-0. The Wildcats’ bad luck didn’t end there, as two errors by freshman shortstop Cameron Hassert allowed three more runs to score and gave St. John’s a 6-0 lead after two.
Villanova (21-14, 9-12 Big East) got on the board in the top of the fourth, as Hassert singled to center, advanced to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch.
St. John’s wraps up the spring with a record of 19-21, marking just the third time since World War II that the Red Storm has endured a losing season.
STJ players end careers on high note
Already some of the most decorated players in the history of St. John’s softball, graduate students Gretchen Bowie, Kaitlin Mattera and Marissa Rizzi each earned spots on the 2021 All-Big East Teams.
Bowie and Rizzi were selected to the First Team for the fourth and second times in their careers, respectively, while Mattera landed on the Second Team, marking the third time she has been honored by the conference over her collegiate career.
“Gretchen and Marissa will be remembered as two of the most successful student-athletes in the history of St. John’s softball,” said coach Bob Guerriero. “The leadership and on-field performance of Kaitlin will not be easily replaced either.”
Bowie, Mattera and Rizzi have combined for nine selections to the All-Big East First and Second Teams over their respective careers.
The trio of graduate students combined to hit nearly .375 in Big East play this season, with Bowie and Rizzi each finishing in the top-ten in batting average in conference play.
The three five-year athletes were an integral part of the Red Storm’s success over the last few years, having been keys to the program’s 2017 and 2019 Big East Regular Season Championships.
This marks the fourth season that Bowie was named to the All-Big East First Team, the most in program history. The Red Storm third baseman hit .378 in conference play this season, adding eight doubles, which was tied with Rizzi for second in the conference.
The former Big East Defensive Player of the Year’s 28 hits were tied for the best mark in the conference this season, while her ten stolen bases were also tied atop the Big East in conference action.
Overall, Bowie’s .340 average on the season was the second best of her career. In 200 games played, the Johnnies third baseman caps off her career as the program leader in triples in a career with 13, while just three RBIs short of the all-time program mark.
Bowie also recorded 193 hits, finishing just seven shy of 200.
As for Rizzi, the Red Storm first baseman earned her second consecutive First Team selection. The graduate student hit .386 in Big East play, finishing ninth in the conference, while smacking eight doubles, tied for second, and landing tied atop the conference in stolen bases.
Rizzi’s 22 hits were good enough for fifth while she led the conference in triples with two in Big East action.
Overall, Rizzi finished the 2021 campaign with a .402 batting average, just one point off her pace from 2019. She finished the season in the top five overall in the conference in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, doubles and stolen bases.
The Red Storm first baseman is the only player in program history to bat over .400 in multiple seasons in their career, as just eight other Johnnies have done it even once in the 40-year history of the program.
Mattera got stronger as the season went on in 2021. The Red Storm catcher hit .375 in conference play this season, finishing just three points outside the top ten, while collecting 24 hits, good enough for fourth in the conference.
Each of Mattera’s three home runs this season came against Big East opponents as well.
Overall, Mattera finished the season with a .354 batting average, which was the third-highest mark on the team and in her career. Like Bowie and Rizzi, she down as one of the top players in program history, as she caps off her career a .324 lifetime hitter.
Mattera racked up 157 hits, 31 doubles and 85 RBIs as a member of the Red Storm, while also holding the program record for hit by pitches in a career with 23.
