Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Tennis Leads Off 2010-11 Season with Northeast Intercollegiate This Weekend
9/16/2010 8:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Sept. 16, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The 2010-11 season will officially open for Bucknell men's tennis this weekend, as the Bison travel to Brown for the Northeast Intercollegiate. Play begins Friday and concludes Sunday in Providence, R.I., and will include opponents from a dozen schools from around the region.
The Bison, which finished last season with a 9-12 overall record, return each of their top three singles players in Anton Kovic (Montreal, Quebec/Milton Academy (Mass.)), Gregg Cohenca (Purchase, N.Y./Rye Country Day School) and Josh Katten (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK). Katten also comes back for another turn after earning Second Team All-Patriot League honors as a freshman a year ago.
Below is a more in-depth look at the upcoming season for Bucknell men's tennis:
Returning are the Orange and Blue's No. 1 singles player, No. 1 doubles team, two All-Patriot League selections and six players who totaled 72 singles victories in 2009-10, but Bucknell men's tennis will still feature several new faces. Six of the Bison's 10 players are sophomores or younger, and the Bison are hoping the new-look squad will have what it takes to take them to their first Patriot League Championship match in the new year.
Bucknell has advanced to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals in each of the last four seasons. Clearing that final hurdle is the next goal on the team's list, and ninth-year head coach Rebecca Helt thinks they have the tools to get it done.
“We expect Anton (Kovic) to be a big force back in that lineup again. I think it's definitely going to be a stronger lineup this year,” said Helt, adding that as always, the starting six will make themselves known as the coaches get better feel for their student-athletes' playing styles during the fall tournament season.
“It's going to be a very different look,” the head coach continued. “We've had three major impact freshmen come in. They'll most definitely make an immediate impact on that lineup somewhere.”
The freshman trio of Scott Bernstein, Kyle Rosen and Chris Tortora will join two Bison – senior co-captains Kovic and Mark Malloy – who have already made an impact on the lineup. Kovic moved into the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles as a junior last season and shouldered the load admirably. He recorded double-digit wins in singles for the second time in his career, while accomplishing the same feat in doubles for the third consecutive season. After moving into ninth place in career doubles victories (47-43) at Bucknell last year, Kovic is also knocking on the top-15 list in combined victories (75-77).
Malloy will look to move back into the starting lineup after missing his entire junior year. After studying abroad during the fall semester, the 2009 Second Team All-Patriot League selection suffered a health scare, forcing him to sit out the spring season. With the difficult year now behind him, Malloy is expected to reclaim his former success.
“He was a very, very successful player his sophomore year. He played No. 3 and just had an outstanding year,” said Helt. “In January right before coming back to school he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He took the semester off and had surgery, but he's back and he's playing really well.”
Bucknell's other returning veterans include juniors Gregg Cohenca and Gregory Maxson. Cohenca, who played primarily second singles last year, finished second on the squad in singles wins with a record of 14-16. That marked his first year to date reaching the double-digit mark, while his 15 doubles victories was also a career-high.
Maxson has reached double digits in each of his first two seasons in the Orange and Blue while playing primarily at sixth singles. As a sophomore last year, Maxson tallied a 12-12 singles mark, which included a season-high five-match winning streak in March.
Bucknell's youth movement started last season as the Bison brought in a corps of now-sophomores that posted some of the team's strongest numbers. Josh Katten became Bucknell's first freshman to earn an All-Patriot League nod, garnering second-team honors after leading the team in singles (17-14) and doubles (19-9) victories.
Katten and classmate Evan Zimmer went 10-1 in doubles together, making them the winningest Bison duo last spring. Zimmer also experienced success in his own right, going 10-4 in singles, including a perfect 5-0 against Patriot League opponents.
Kelly Morque, who played his way to the top of the lineup as Kovic's doubles partner at the No. 1 position, shot out of the gates in his debut campaign. Morque won four of his first five singles matches and five of six contests in doubles when he first took to the courts for Bucknell. He eventually finished his season with a 13-14 doubles record, including an 8-3 mark during the fall tournament schedule.
Bucknell's season gets underway with the Northeast Intercollegiate in Providence, R.I., Sept. 17-19, with the Bison's first home event – the Bucknell Invitational – is slated for Oct. 1-3. Dual action will get into full swing on Feb. 5 at Duquesne before the Bison open Patriot League play in Annapolis, Md., taking on Navy, which knocked them out of the league tournament a year ago. Bucknell's schedule, including its eight home events, will culminate with the Patriot League Championships April 15-17 in Bethlehem, Pa.
