March 22, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell tennis will wrap up its streak of more than five matches on the road, taking on Mount St. Mary's at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in Emmitsburg, Md. The Bison then return home for the first time in more than a month, hosting Navy in the Patriot League opener. Bison will clash with the Midshipmen at 2 p.m. at the Bucknell Tennis Courts.
ABOUT THE BISON
Bucknell went 2-0 last week, gathering wins over North Georgia (7-0) and Villanova (6-1). After starting the season 0-4, the Bison have come on strong lately. Bucknell has won four of its last five matches, bringing its season tally to 4-5.
Lauren Lucido (Woodstock, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) and Tania Varela (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy) kept their doubles streak alive by going 3-0 last week, including a win in the unfinished Denison match. The duo has now won each of their last eight doubles matches. This is just the second-longest winning streak of Lucido's career, however. The junior won 10 in a row with former teammate Paulina Gamboa to end the 2008-09 season.
The eight-match doubles winning streak is also the second-longest of Varela's career. She went undefeated at 10-0 in the fall of 2006 with former Bison Ashley Globerman. Varela also won eight straight matches last season with Globerman and Carlin Calcaterra (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) and in the fall of 2007 while playing with Lucido.
Varela also heads into the week on seven-match winning streak in singles play. The senior needs two more to tie her career-best streak of nine matches set in the fall of 2006 as a freshman. Varela went on to be named Patriot League Rookie of the Year and earn her first of three All-Patriot League First Team selections that season.
Calcaterra and Courtney Casey (Rockville, Md./Georgetown Visitation) have started to find their stride in doubles. The duo started 0-4 when paired together but have since won the last two contests, 8-0 vs. North Georgia and 9-8 at Villanova.
Dumitrita Iepuras (Chisinau, Moldova/Germantown Friends School) has also begun to find her rhythm in singles action. The sophomore opened the spring season 0-6 when playing solo. She has been the victor in four of her last five matches, however, with the lone hiccup coming March 7 at Syracuse.
The Bison have three players approaching 20 wins in singles this year in Varela (19-6), Lucido (17-6) and Iepuras (15-9). The last time three or more Bison finished a season with 20 or more singles victories was in 2004-05 with Tanya Sichko (22-10), Nada Curcic (31-4), Veronica Brown (20-8) and Chelsea Mills (23-9). That quartet holds the top four spots for most career singles victories in Bucknell history.
Varela is trying to join those record-holding Bison in the history books and her five wins last week moved her one step closer to accomplishing that. The senior is currently fifth all-time in career combined wins (126-55) and singles wins (63-25), and fourth in doubles wins (63-30).
ABOUT MOUNT ST. MARY'S
Mount St. Mary's enters the week with an 11-2 record after winning its last four. The Mountaineers will have to shake off some rust, however, as they have not played since defeating Puerto Rico-Mayaguez in Orlando, Fla., 9-0, on March 5. Mount St. Mary's has five players in double-digit wins in singles this year, including Emily Bolchoz (14-4), Kelly Conroy (13-4), Chelsea Johnson (12-7), Renee Deane (11-6) and Carly Landini (10-7). The doubles team of Bolchoz and Deane has also been impressive with a 14-3 record.
The Mountaineers were 10-10 overall last season. Their 4-1 record in the Northeast Conference earned them a third-place finish, but they did not earn any selections to the all-conference team.
Bucknell holds a commanding lead in the all-time series with an 11-1 advantage, but Mount St. Mary's saw more success when the two teams met at the Bucknell Invitational in September. The Mountaineers were 1-3 against the Bison at the tournament. Iepuras claimed Bucknell's lone win, 6-4, 6-2 over Bolchoz.
In their last dual match, Bucknell won 7-0 in 2009. All but two matches were decided in straight sets. Lucido and Iepuras both bounced back after dropping the first set. Lucido defeated Johnson 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 at the No. 2 spot, while Iepuras won over the recently graduated Kaitlin Hallahan, 5-7, 6-1, 10-6 at the third position.
ABOUT NAVY
Navy is 6-2 in its first season as a varsity sport. The Mids have won each of their last three matches heading into the week. They will play St. Bonaventure on Thursday before heading to Lewisburg for the bout with the Bison on Saturday.
Despite having never played in the Patriot League, the Midshipmen tied for fourth in the league's preseason poll. Navy received 42 points, including one first-place vote, to tie it with Lehigh and put it eight points behind third-place Bucknell.
Navy is led by Emani Decquir with a 12-6 record in singles. She is also 7-6 in doubles when teaming up with Dye Das. Both wins totals are team-highs.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell will stay at home for each of its next three matches. Leading off the stretch is Hofstra on Wednesday, March 31. The Bison and the Pride will face off at 3 p.m. at the Bucknell Tennis Courts.
