April 8, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell men's tennis will take to the road for the final time this season looking for its third consecutive team victory, traveling to Army on Friday and Lafayette on Sunday. The Bison's (5-10, 1-1) match at Army's Malek Courts in West Point, N.Y., is slated for a 3 p.m. start, while the showdown at the Leopards' Sullivan Courts in Easton, Pa., is set to begin t 2 p.m.
ABOUT THE BISON
Bucknell closed out last week with a 7-0 victory over Hofstra followed by the 5-2 decision over Colgate. It was the first time this season the Bison strung together multiple wins.
Anton Kovic (Montreal, Quebec/Milton Academy (Mass.)) won both his No. 1 singles matches last week to help Bucknell to the team victories. That success, along with a win at No. 1 doubles with Kelly Morque (Rye, N.Y./Rye) against Colgate, brought the junior's career combined record to 72-78 and moved him into 20th all-time at Bucknell. One more win in either singles or doubles will tie him for 18th in program history with Casey Jones (1972-75) and Todd Jacobs (1999-2003).
Kovic has won five of his last six singles matches, all of them coming at the No. 1 position. Those victories have not come easily. Kovic split sets and forced extra play on three occasions and won each time. Included in the list of opponents to fall are North Georgia's Luciano Neto (7-6, 6-7, 10-4), Villanova's Alex Leeser (3-6, 6-3, 6-1) and Coglate's Michael Yassky (6-4, 6-7, 10-5).
Josh Katten (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK) and Evan Zimmer (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex) are in the midst of a four-match doubles winning streak together. The duo has wins over Mount St. Mary's, Navy, Hofstra and Colgate. Zimmer is also working a three-match winning streak in singles, making the freshman's last loss Feb. 20 vs. Duquesne.
Gregory Maxson (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Hotchkiss) has a winning streak of his own in the works. The sophomore is 5-0 in singles dating back to Bucknell's March 20 match at Villanova. That stretch took Maxson's record from 5-10 to 10-10 this season.
Maxson is not the only Bison in double-figure singles wins this year. He is joined by Katten (13-13), Gregg Cohenca (Rye, N.Y./Rye Country Day School) (10-14) and Kovic (10-14).
Zach Hascoe (Greenwich, Conn./Brunswick) is looking to become the ninth Bison to reach 100 career wins. The senior has a combined record of 96-68 with at least six matches remaining.
ABOUT THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army is 9-7 overall this season and 3-1 in the Patriot League. The Black Knights' lone league loss came in a 4-3 decision to Colgate. The team's wins include Lehigh (4-3), Lafayette (7-0) and Holy Cross (7-0).
The 2008-09 season was a successful one for the Black Knights. Although they finished the year below .500 at 10-15, they advanced to the Patriot League Championship match before falling 4-1 to Navy. Phil Muhawi and Jordan Girdley were named All-Patriot League selections, but both those players have graduated. Returning in 2010 is the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year Donald Van Velzer.
It has been quite some time since Bucknell pulled out a win against Army. The Orange and Blue's last victory came in 1974, putting Army ahead 22-3 in the all-time series. When the teams met last season, Army came away with the 5-2 win. Kovic and former Bison Ryan Sandburg earned a tough 9-8 win at doubles, and Mark Malloy (Bronxville, N.Y./Hackley School) and Maxson won at singles.
ABOUT THE LEOPARDS
Lafayette is 5-8 overall and 1-3 in the Patriot League heading into the last half of the week. The Leopards will be on the courts twice before hosting the Bison, playing St. Peter's on Thursday and Wagner on Saturday.
Lafayette's wins this season have come in convincing fashion. Four of the team's five wins have come by a score of 7-0, including its league victory over Holy Cross. The Leopards' league losses have come by equally lopsided scores to Army (7-0), Colgate (6-1) and Navy (5-0).
Eric Wiley is the lone all-league performer from last year's squad that finished 7-12 overall and 1-5 in the Patriot League. He returns for his senior season in 2009-10.
Bucknell has a 41-20 advantage in one of the longest series in program history. The Bison and Leopards first met in 1936. Last season, some 73 years after they first played, Bucknell collected a 4-3 win earning the doubles point with the help of victories from Sandburg and Kovic as well as Cohenca and Malloy. Sandburg, Malloy and Daniel Bednarek also claimed wins in singles play to solidify the team's success.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell will return home for the remainder of its 2010 schedule. The Bison will host Robert Morris on Tuesday, April 13, celebration Senior Day prior to the match. They will then welcome Lehigh (April 14) and Bloomsburg (April 21) prior to hosting the Patriot League Tournament April 23-25.
