Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Tennis to Battle Niagara, St. Bonaventure This Weekend
3/4/2010 7:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 4, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell will be looking to snap its three-match skid when it travels to New York to take on Niagara and St. Bonaventure this weekend. The Bison (1-5) will face the Purple Eagles in North Tonawanda on Friday, followed by the Bonnies in Olean at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
ABOUT THE BISON
- Bucknell was forced to wait another week to get back on the court after winter weather postponed its match with Binghamton last Saturday. The match has not been rescheduled.
- The Bison have been relying on a youth movement for many of their wins on the singles courts this year. Bucknell's underclassmen have amassed a 43-49 record, including 26-25 from the four freshmen and 17-24 from the three sophomores. The upperclassmen, which have included junior Anton Kovic (Montreal, Quebec/Milton Academy (Mass.)) and senior Zach Hascoe (Greenwich, Conn./Brunswick) have combined for a 5-12 record.
- That youth has also led to some new doubles combinations in 2009-10. The Bison have used 12 different teams since this fall, and no duo had ever played together prior to the current season. Bucknell is 5-13 at doubles this year.
- Bucknell has had some difficulty stringing together its wins this spring. Although several players have at least one victory to their name, only Kovic has been able to gather back-to-back wins. His two-match winning streak came at No. 1 singles against Saint Francis and Georgetown.
- No current Bison entered the season with experience at first singles. Kovic and Gregg Cohenca (Purchase, N.Y./Rye Country Day School) have share duties so far this spring with Kovic tallying a 2-3 record and Cohenca at 0-1. Former Bison Ryan Sandburg and Ira Reibeisen earned all starts at No. 1 singles in the last two years.
- With his and Josh Katten's (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK) doubles win against Duquesne two weeks ago, Hascoe is one victory away from tying former teammate Daniel Bednarek for eighth on the all-time doubles wins list. Hascoe is currently 45-24 for his career. One more doubles win for Kovic will also improve his standing on the all-time list. At 42-34, Kovic needs one more win to move into a tie for 10th place, equaling T.K. Kelly and Nick Denefrio.
ABOUT NIAGARA
- Niagara comes into the weekend with a 2-5 record. The Purple Eagles bounced back from a season-opening 7-0 loss to Cleveland State for back-to-back wins against Mercyhurst (7-0) and Youngstown State (5-2), but they have are since lost their last four.
- The Purple Eagles, which were picked third in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coaches Poll this year, lost as the No. 5 seed in the 2009 MAAC Tournament semifinals to No. 1 Fairfield. Returning from that team is the all-conference doubles tandem of David Lemieux-Sarrasin and Joe Zelic. Both juniors in 2010, they were named Second Team All-MAAC a year ago.
- Bucknell is 1-1 in the series against Niagara. The two teams have not met since the Cornell Duals in 2003 when the Purple Eagles took a 5-1 win. Only the doubles team of Aaron Saperstein and Don Whaley claimed a win for the Bison, 7-5, 7-6 (3).
ABOUT ST. BONAVENTURE
- St. Bonaventure opened its season with three consecutive losses, including a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Colgate. The Bonnies won their latest contest, 7-0 against Saint Francis (Pa.), bringing their season tally to 1-3.
- The Bonnies placed five players on the All-Atlantic 10 teams last year when they finished runner-up in the conference championship. Three of those team members are back for another season, including juniors Chris Post and Mikhail Sudakov, and senior Diego Valdenegro.
- Bucknell is 3-7 against the Bonnies since the series began in 1994. The teams met just last season with St. Bonaventure coming out on top 6-1. Mark Malloy (Bronxville, N.Y./Hackley School) won at No. 5 singles, 6-4 and 6-4, although Sandburg and Jonathan Brenner took their singles matches three sets. Sandburg lost to Post at the No. 1 position, while Brenner fell to Sudakov at No. 4. Gregory Maxson (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Hotchkiss) won his exhibition match against Tyler Reppert, 1-6, 6-4, (10-3).
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bison will have a short break following their trip through New York. They will return to the court for a road match at Villanova on Saturday, March 20.
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