April 20, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell tennis will host Bloomsburg in its final regular-season match of the year, taking on the Huskies at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at the Varsity Tennis Courts. The contest will close the book on the season for the women's squad, which finished runner-up in the Patriot League Tournament last weekend. The men's team is looking for a successful tune-up, however, as it looks forward to its own championship run this weekend. Both teams will celebrate Senior Day prior to the start of competition.
MEN'S NOTEBOOK
Bucknell went 2-0 last week with wins over Robert Morris (6-1) and Lehigh (4-3). With the team victory over the Mountain Hawks, the Bison improved their record to 8-11 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League, clinching the No. 3 seed in this weekend's Patriot League Tournament.
That pair of wins last week brought Bucknell's current winning streak to three matches. That is the longest winning stretch of the season for the Bison, which started the season 1-8 but finished 7-3 in their last 10 matches.
As the third seed in the Patriot League Tournament, Bucknell will take on No. 6 Lafayette in the first round. That match is slated for 1 p.m. on Friday. Also in action on the first day is No. 4 Colgate vs. No. 5 Lehigh at 10 a.m. and No. 2 Navy vs. No. 7 Holy Cross at 4 p.m. With the best record in the league, top-seeded Army received the bye.
Bucknell's freshman class started the season in September strong and has remained a steady force for the Bison throughout the year. With just a handful of matches remaining, the freshman class of Josh Katten (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK), Ryan Marcil (Vero Beach, Fla./St. Edward's), Kelly Morque (Rye, N.Y./Rye) and Evan Zimmer (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex) have combined for a 91-68 (.572) record in singles and doubles. Katten leads all players with 31 combined victories.
Zimmer took some time to get his career in the Orange and Blue going, but he is finishing his freshman campaign on a strong note. Zimmer currently has a six-match winning streak in singles, the longest of any Bison this year. During that stretch, he has defeated opponents from Mount St. Mary's, Hofstra, Colgate, Army, Lafayette and Lehigh while playing primarily at the No. 5 position. Zimmer also has won seven of his last eight doubles matches, partnering with Katten almost exclusively at the No. 3 spot.
Zach Hascoe (Greenwich, Conn./Brunswick) will finish his Bucknell career ranked in the top 10 in singles, doubles and combined victories. The senior is tied for eighth at singles (49-44) and doubles (47-26), as well as 10th in total wins (96-70). Hascoe shares eighth place in doubles with teammate Anton Kovic (Montreal, Quebec/Milton Academy (Mass.)).
WOMEN'S NOTEBOOK
Bucknell suffered a close loss in the Patriot League Championship last Sunday, falling 4-3 to No. 1 Army in Hamilton, N.Y. With the match tied at 3-3, the title came down to a deciding third set at No. 5 singles, but the Bison were unable to pull off the upset. Despite the hiccup at the end, Bucknell had a smooth road to the championship match, defeating Lafayette (4-0) and Navy (4-1) along the way.
Tania Varela (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy) hit a pair of career milestones during the tournament. The senior won her 18th consecutive singles match in her win against the Black Knights as well as her 18th straight doubles win with Lauren Lucido (Woodstock, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) in the previous round against Navy. Both streaks are the longest in the program history.
Lucido has a major singles streak of her own going. The junior has won her last 13 solo matches dating back to March against North Georgia.
Dumitrita Iepuras (Chisinau, Moldova/Germantown Friends School) and Daria Tuzhikova (Minsk, Belarus/Gymnasium No. 7) enter their final match with a doubles record of 15-5 together. They also went 6-2 against Patriot League foes with their only losses coming to Michael Tollerton and Robie Verano of Army.
The 2009-10 Bison have made quite the impact on the Bucknell career records lists. Varela will finish her career fourth in program history in singles (74-25) and third in doubles (73-30) victories. She is currently fourth in combined wins at 147-55. One more win will tie her with Tanya Sichko for third all-time.
Lucido is fifth in doubles victories (67-21) as well as sixth in singles (64-25) and combined (131-46) wins. The junior just needs just two more total wins to tie with Paulina Gamboa for fifth on the combined wins list.
Carlin Calcaterra (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) will also finish her career among some of the top doubles players in Bison history. At 53-59 in her career, she ranks seventh on the records list.
BLOOMSBURG NOTEBOOK
Bloomsburg's men's team is 10-7 on the season. The Huskies have lost their last four matches, but won their previous six. Ricky Dove headlines the singles lineup at 17-9 this year, including 6-2 at the No. 1 position. Dove is also one of the top doubles players, tallying a 9-6 record at No. 1.
The men's series with Bloomsburg began in 1931 and the Huskies have taken a 14-12 lead since then. The last meeting in 1997 ended in favor the Bison, however. Bucknell swept the doubles and Hascoe was one of five Bison to win at singles, leading to a 6-1 victory. The teams also met at the Bloomsburg Invitational in September. Bucknell won nine of 12 matches during the event.
Bloomsburg's women are 13-3 this season and have won their last nine matches. Kristen Bonito leads the Huskies in singles with a 15-4 record, but Katie Hasyn has a majority of the team's wins at first singles. Hasyn is 10-11 on the year, including 8-7 at No. 1. Andrea Malatesta and Laura Sullivan are the only doubles duo to reach double-digit wins this year at 10-6.
Bucknell has dominated in the series with Bloomsburg, 30-9. - The teams' 1997 meeting ended with a 4-3 Bucknell victory. All four points came at singles with help from then freshmen and current seniors Varela, Calcaterra and Kirstyn Sotak (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Hathaway Brown). When Bucknell competed at the Bloomsburg Invitational in September, the Bison won nine of 13 matches.
LOOKING AHEAD
The match with Bloomsburg concludes the women's season, but the men are just gearing up for the Patriot League Tournament. Bucknell will host the league's year-end event April 23-25 at the Varsity Tennis Courts.
