No. 3 Bucknell Men's Tennis Hosts Patriot League Tournament This Weekend

April 22, 2010

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell men's tennis hopes to keep its winning streak alive for at least three more matches as it hosts the Patriot League Tournament at the Varsity Tennis Courts April 23-25. The third-seeded Bison (8-11) will face No. 6 Lafayette in the first round of action at 1 p.m. on Friday. Play continues through the weekend with the championship match set for noon on Sunday. In the event of inclement weather, matches will be moved to the West Branch Tennis Club in Williamsport, Pa.

ABOUT THE BISON

Bucknell had a shortened outing against Bloomsburg on Wednesday. The Bison swept the Huskies in doubles and were leading in all six singles matches before lightning forced an early end to the day.

Bucknell got off to a slow start, but the team is looking to peak at the right time. The Bison opened the season with just a 1-8 record. In their last 10 complete matches, however, they are 7-3. The last time a Bucknell squad made a similar turnaround was in 1993 when the Orange and Blue started 2-5 but went 4-2 in their last six contests. The 1990 Bison also began 3-3 before going undefeated in their last six.

Bucknell looks for this year to the season it gets over the hump. The Bison are 9-13 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament and have never advanced past the semifinals. That record includes semifinal losses in each of the last three years.

The Bison are 10-10 in regular-season Patriot League matches over the last four years. They have finished 3-2 twice and 2-3 in the other campaigns.

In last year's Patriot League Tournament, hosted by Army, No. 4 Bucknell defeated No. 5 Lehigh, 4-2, in the first round. The Bison ran into quite a bit more trouble in the semifinals, falling 4-0 to the No. 1 seed and eventual champion Navy.

The last time Bucknell hosted the Patriot League Tournament was in 1996. Then the fifth seed, the Bison lost to No. 4 Lehigh in the first round. They then defeated Lafayette 4-1 in the fifth-place match.

Bucknell has been getting some steady play from its doubles players lately. Gregg Cohenca (Purchase, N.Y./Rye Country Day School) and Ryan Marcil (Vero Beach, Fla./St. Edward's) have won six of their last seven matches together at the No. 2 position. Josh Katten (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK) and Evan Zimmer (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex) have been the victors in eight of their last nine matches at the No. 3 position. The only hiccup for both teams came at Army on April 9.

Five Bison posted winning records against Patriot League foes this season. Leading the group is Zimmer at 8-1, including a 4-0 in singles. Cohenca is also better than .500 in both doubles and singles with a 3-2 tally in each. Joining Zimmer and Cohenca on the list are Katten (6-4), Marcil (4-2) and Gregory Maxson (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Hotchkiss) (3-2).

Cohenca is nearing a career milestone in doubles. At 27-25, the sophomore is two wins shy of tying for 24th on the all-time career doubles wins list at Bucknell. It will be Cohenca's first appearance on a top-25 list.

Anton Kovic (Montreal, Quebec/Milton Academy (Mass.)) and Zach Hascoe (Greenwich, Conn./Brunswick) teamed up for a win at first doubles against Bloomsburg on Wednesday afternoon. With the victory, the two Bison remain in a tie for eighth place on the Bucknell all-time doubles wins list with 48 each.

ABOUT THE FIELD

No. 1 Army receives a first-round bye with its 5-1 Patriot League record. The Black Knights' first match will come in the semifinals against the winner of the Colgate-Lafayette match. When Bucknell and Army met in the regular-season, the Black Knights came away with a 4-3 victory at West Point.

No. 2 Navy just missed earning the top seed for the fourth consecutive season, finishing the league schedule with a 4-1 record. Navy's only league loss came against Army earlier this month. As a result, the Midshipmen will take on Holy Cross in their first round match. When Bucknell and Navy met in the regular season, the Mids came away with a 5-2 win. The Bison took two of three doubles matches, earning their first doubles point against the Mids since at least 1953.

No. 4 Colgate finished the league season with a 3-2 record but lost the tiebreaker to Bucknell after the Bison won the regular-season meeting, 5-2. The Raiders have the distinction of being the only Patriot League team to defeat Army this season.

No. 5 Lehigh clinched the fifth seed with a 5-2 win over Lafayette on Monday. The regular-season finale improved the Mountain Hawks' Patriot League record to 2-4. Bucknell defeated Lehigh 4-3 in Bethlehem, Pa., last week with the help of victories in two of three doubles matches and in third through fifth singles.

No. 6 Lafayette fell to 1-5 in the league and to sixth in the standings with its recent loss to Lehigh. Bucknell dominated the Leopards in doubles play, getting wins in all three matches to set up the ultimate victory. The Bison returned to Lewisburg with a 4-3 team win.

No. 7 Holy Cross played just three league matches this spring and was unable to come up with a win. All three losses came in consecutive days to Army, Lehigh and Lafayette in late March. Bucknell and Holy Cross did not meet in 2010.

PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, April 23
No. 4 Colgate vs. No. 5 Lehigh, 10 a.m.
No. 3 Bucknell vs. No. 6 Lafayette, 1 p.m.
No. 2 Navy vs. No. 7 Holy Cross, 4 p.m.

Saturday, April 24
No. 1 Army vs. Winner Colgate/Lehigh, 10 a.m.
Winner Bucknell/Lafayette vs. Winner Navy/Holy Cross, 2 p.m.

Sunday, April 25
Championship Match, 12 p.m.

Bucknell University Athletics

No. 3 Bucknell Men's Tennis Hosts Patriot League Tournament This Weekend

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