Bucknell University
Army
Bucknell Women's Tennis Edged 4-3 at Army
4/10/2010 8:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 10, 2010
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Bucknell women's tennis suffered its first Patriot League loss of the season, falling to defending champion Army 4-3 in West Point, N.Y., on Saturday morning. Although the Bison's (9-6, 3-1) team winning streak came to an end at seven matches, Tania Varela (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy), Lauren Lucido (Woodstock, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) and Lauren Rottkamp (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor) kept their own undefeated streaks alive.
Army is now 18-8 overall and 5-0 in the Patriot League. The Black Knights' victory today makes them the lone team with an undefeated league record. With today's outcome, Army maintains its hold on the top spot in the Patriot League standings, while Bucknell stays in second.
Varela and Lucido defeated Anne Houghton and Kristin Beehler at No. 1 doubles, 8-4. The win makes the Bison duo 14-0 since Feb. 13. Lucido also moved into fifth all-time at Bucknell in doubles wins with a 63-21 career record.
Bucknell nearly pulled out the doubles point, but fell by close scores in the remaining two matches. Carlin Calcaterra (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) and Courtney Casey (Rockville, Md./Georgetown Visitation) competed to the end, but dropped the deciding tiebreaker 9-8 (7-3) to Erin Colton and Annie Hang at No. 2 doubles. Dumitrita Iepuras (Chisinau, Moldova/Germantown Friends School) and Daria Tuzhikova (Minsk, Belarus/Gymnasium No. 7) also battled in a close match at the No. 3 position but could not overcome the break of serve. The Bucknell tandem eventually lost 8-6 to Michael Tollerton and Robie Verano.
Varela extended her singles winning streak to 13 matches with a victory at No. 1 over Houghton. Just as in her previous seven matches, Varela won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Lucido was also a winner at No. 2 singles, defeating Colton 6-2, 6-2. That brought the Bison junior to 8-0 in her last eight singles contests.
Also improving her winning streak to eight matches was Rottkamp with a 6-1, 6-2 decision over Verano. Rottkamp's singles record now stands at 12-12 during 2009-10.
Bucknell will have little time to prepare for its next opponent as it travels to Lafayette tomorrow. Match time in Easton, Pa., is set for 11 a.m.
Army 4, Bucknell 3
Doubles:
1. Tania Varela/Lauren Lucido (B) def. Anne Houghton/Kristin Beehler (A); 8-4
2. Erin Colton/Annie Hang (A) def. Carlin Calcaterra/Courtney Casey (B); 9-8 (3)
3. Michael Tollerton/Robie Verano (A) def. Dumitrita Iepuras/Daria Tuzhikova (B); 8-6
Singles:
1. Varela (B) def. Houghton (A); 6-4, 6-3
2. Lucido (B) def. Colton (A); 6-2, 6-2
3. Beehler (A) def. Iepuras (B); 6-4, 6-4
4. Jessica Ahn (A) def. Calcaterra (B); 6-2, 6-1
5. Tollerton (A) def. Dara Dwojewski (B); 6-0, 6-1
6. Lauren Rottkamp (B) def. Verano (A); 6-1, 6-2
