April 15, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell women's tennis heads into the final stage of its championship quest, facing Lafayette in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament at 6 p.m. on Friday in Hamilton, N.Y. The Bison (11-6, 4-1) have finished runner-up in each of the last five tournaments and are looking for their first title since 1994. Play continues through the weekend with the Championship Match scheduled for Sunday, April 18.
ABOUT THE BISON
With its 4-1 Patriot League record, Bucknell earned the second seed at the 2010 tournament. The squad's first-round opponent is the No. 7 Lafayette. Friday's winner will go on to face either Navy or Holy Cross in the semifinals at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
This is the fourth time in program history the Bison have been seeded second in the tournament. Bucknell finished No. 1 in the league standings in 1994. That season also marked the last time Bucknell won the Patriot League Championship as it defeated No. 2 Colgate 5-2 in the finals. It was the first season the tournament switched from a flighted, individual format to a team competition.
Bucknell has advanced to the finals of the Patriot League Tournament each of the last five seasons. The Bison have run into Army each time. The Black Knights won the first three championship meetings 4-0, but the Bison have had more success recently. The 2008 championship ended 4-3, while last year's score was 4-1 in favor of Army.
The Bison are 13-13 in the Patriot League Tournament since it switched to a team format in 1994.
With its 11-6 overall record this season, Bucknell recorded its second straight year with double-digit team victories. It is also the seventh time in head coach Rebecca Helt's 13-year tenure that her women's squad has posted at least 10 wins.
Dumitrita Iepuras (Chisinau, Moldova/Germantown Friends School) became the latest Bison to record 20 singles victories this season. The sophomore reached the milestone with a 6-1, 6-3 win over her Lehigh opponent last week. She joins Tania Varela (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy) and Lauren Lucido (Woodstock, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) in the 20-wins club. Heading into the tournament, Varela is at 27-6, while Lucido has posted a record of 25-6.
Although not quite at 20 wins, two more Bison have entered the double-digit wins column in singles. Lauren Rottkamp (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor) and Courtney Casey (Rockville, Md./Georgetown Visitation) have reached 12 and 10 wins, respectively. It is the third double-figure wins season for Rottkamp and the first for Casey.
Three Bison are on the verge of reaching 20 wins in doubles. Lucido will look to be the first at 19-5 during the 2009-10 season. Varela and Daria Tuzhikova (Minsk, Belarus/Gymnasium No. 7) are close behind with 18 wins apiece.
With Lucido and Varela's current doubles winning streak, odds are that it will not take them long to reach their next milestone. The Bison duo has won their last 16 doubles matches, which is tied for the longest doubles streak in program history.
Varela and Lucido also have some impressive winning streaks in singles going. Varela enters the tournament having won 15 straight matches, while Lucido has won each of her last 10. Rottkamp is also 8-0 in her last handful of singles outings.
With a 71-25 career singles record, Varela needs three more victories to move into fourth all-time at Bucknell. She also needs one more doubles win to set her career tally at 72-30 and take sole possession of third place on the doubles list. Six more total victories will tie Varela for third in all-time combined wins at Bucknell. Her current record is 142-55.
With a 61-25 career singles record, Lucido needs two more wins to move into sixth place on the program record list.
Three more doubles wins for Dara Dwojewski (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) will improve her placing on the Bucknell records list to 18th. Three more singles wins for Rottkamp will move her into 17th place.
ABOUT THE FIELD
No. 1 Army (18-9, 5-0) will receive a first-round bye. The Black Knights have been the top seed in the tournament every year but one since 1999. Army had a slim edge over Bucknell when the teams met in the regular season. The Black Knights won 4-3 at West Point, but doubles competition was close. Varela and Lucido won at No. 1 doubles, while Carlin Calcaterra (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) and Casey lost 9-8 at No. 2, and Iepuras and Tuzhikova lost 8-6 at No. 3. Bucknell was the only Patriot League opponent to claim more than one point off Army this spring.
No. 3 Navy (12-3, 2-1) is playing in its first Patriot League Tournament after becoming a varsity sport this year. The Midshipmen's lone league loss came to Bucknell on March 27 as the Bison came away with the 6-1 victory.
No. 4 Colgate (8-6, 2-2) was voted to finish second in the Patriot League Preseason Poll but fell to fourth in the actual standings after taking a 7-0 loss to Army, followed by a 6-1 loss to Bucknell. The Raiders hope for the home court advantage as they are hosting their first women's tennis tournament since 1995.
No. 5 Lehigh (4-13, 2-4) earned its league wins over Holy Cross (6-1) and Lafayette (5-2) this season, but fell to Army (7-0), Navy (6-1) and Colgate (5-2). The Mountain Hawks also fell to Bucknell, 7-0, last week.
No. 6 Holy Cross (4-6, 1-2) claimed its lone league win over Lafayette, 5-2, in March. The Crusaders' other two matches in league play were equally lopsided, as they lost to Army and Lehigh by the score of 6-1. Bucknell and Holy Cross did not face each other in the regular season.
No. 7 Lafayette (3-8, 0-6) struggled in 2010. Despite being unable to claim a victory in league play, the Leopards will hope that being the only team to face all six league foes in the regular season pays off in the postseason. They will have to work for a big turnaround, however, as their closest matches finished at 5-2 against Holy Cross and Lehigh. Bucknell swept Lafayette in their meeting last weekend.
PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, April 16
10 a.m. – No. 4 Colgate vs. No. 5 Lehigh
2 p.m. – No. 3 Navy vs. No. 6 Holy Cross
6 p.m. – No. 2 Bucknell vs. No. 7 Lafayette
Saturday, April 17
10 a.m. – No. 1 Army vs. No. 4/5 Winner
2 p.m. – No. 3/6 Winner vs. No. 2/7 Winner
Sunday, April 18
TBA – Patriot League Championship Match
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell will have one final match following the tournament. The Bison will host Bloomsburg on Wednesday, April 21. Action begins at 4 p.m. with Senior Day activities scheduled for before the start of play.
