Blue Demons Stage Comeback to Advance to BIG EAST Championship

Saturday, April 18

Cayce, S.C.

12 P.M. CT

DePaul University

#3 St. John's

Blue Demons Stage Comeback to Advance to BIG EAST Championship

4/18/2026 6:48:00 PM | WOMEN'S TENNIS

0-3 comeback is the first in BIG EAST postseason program history

CAYCE, S.C. – The No. 2 seed DePaul Blue Demons defeated the No. 3 seed St. John's Red Storm in spectacular fashion Saturday afternoon, clawing back from an 0-3 deficit to triumph 4-3. At Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center, DePaul made program history, completing its first such 0-3 comeback in BIG EAST postseason play. Across all BIG EAST teams, an 0-3 come-from-behind victory was last seen in 2023, when Creighton defeated DePaul in the semifinal round.

To kick off semifinal play, DePaul found mixed results in the doubles portion. No. 1 court Hannah Smith and Clara Nilsson coasted past their opponent in a 6-0 shutout, while No. 3 court Roberta Sechi and Helin Alvarez fell 1-6 in their bout. The No. 2 pairing of Sasha Stula and Eleanor Cochran battled hard but came up short in a 4-6 loss, ceding the doubles point to St. John's.

More of the same struggles plagued DePaul to start singles action. Twenty minutes into each matchup, the Blue Demons trailed on every court, struggling to get going. The first results of the afternoon saw Nilsson on No. 5 and Smith on No. 2 defeated in straight sets, giving the Red Storm a nearly decisive 3-0 match lead.

The junior duo of Sechi and Stula provided the spark for DePaul, both winning their first sets. Stula put DePaul on the board first, with a 7-5, 6-3 result at No. 1 court. Sechi soon followed suit on court No. 4, with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph, narrowing the scoreline to 3-2 in St. John's favor.

DePaul needed victories from both Yasemin Pehlivan and Helin Alvarez to clinch the match and keep the Blue Demons' season alive. Following identical scorelines throughout their clashes, the two lost their first sets 5-7, needing to play perfect tennis from that point on. Pehlivan, on court No. 3, and Alvarez, on court No. 6, then settled in, both winning their second sets 6-3. Then, Pehlivan, a few minutes ahead of Alvarez, was able to close her battle convincingly 6-2, winning the final four games of her bout. With the match solely in her hands, Alvarez, the redshirt sophomore, rattled off four games consecutively to grant DePaul the overall victory and complete the dramatic comeback.

In the Championship round, the Blue Demons will take on the No. 1 seed Xavier Musketeers at 12 p.m. tomorrow on Sunday, April 19. Two weeks ago, on April 4, Xavier bested DePaul 4-3 in a nailbiter at XS Tennis Village.

DePaul has reached the BIG EAST Tournament final 11 times, the most of any conference team since the Blue Demons joined in 2005. In championship meetings against Xavier, DePaul is 2-4, having most recently defeated the Musketeers in 2019.

Final Results
DePaul 4, St. John's 3
April 18, 2026
Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center - Cayce, S.C.

Doubles
1. Hannah Smith/Clara Nillson (DEP) def. Alicia Gomez/Abi Redman (SJU) 6-0
2. Victoria Papadopoulou/Noemi Babikova (SJU) def. Eleanor Cochran/Sasha Stula (DEP) 6-4
3. Charlotta Buss/Giulia Bizzari (SJU) def. Roberta Sechi/Helin Alvarez (DEP) 6-1

Singles
1. Sasha Stula (DEP) def. Victoria Papadopoulou (SJU) 7-5, 6-3
2. Noemi Babikova (SJU) def. Hannah Smith (DEP) 6-3, 6-4
3. Yasemin Pehlivan (DEP) def. Nao Kojima (SJU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
4. Roberta Sechi (DEP) def. Nicoline Sartz-Lunde (SJU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Charlotta Buss (SJU) def. Clara Nilsson (DEP) 6-0, 6-4
6. Helin Alvarez (DEP) def. Giulia Bizzari (SJU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2

Order of Finish
Doubles: 1-3-2
Singles: 5-2-1-4-3-6

UP NEXT
DePaul plays Xavier in the BIG EAST Tournament Championship on April 19, at 12 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.