Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Tennis Makes Northern Swing for St. Bonaventure, Cornell
3/4/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 4, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell women's tennis is trying to use its win over Saint Francis (Pa.) last week as a jumpstart to another successful weekend as the Bison prepare for St. Bonaventure and Cornell. Bucknell will open play with the Bonnies in Olean, N.Y., at 9 a.m. on Saturday before heading to Ithaca for a 10 a.m. match with Cornell on Sunday at the Reis Tennis Center.
ABOUT THE BISON
- Bucknell recorded a handful of firsts with its victory over Saint Francis last Friday. With the 6-1 decision, it was the Bison's first win of the dual season, bringing their record to 1-4 this spring. Bucknell also won the doubles point for the first time with help from Courtney Casey (Rockville, Md./Georgetown Visitation) and Lauren Lucido (Woodstock, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) at the No. 1 position and Dara Dwojewski (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) and Elena Vidrascu (Rochester, N.Y./Sutherland) at No. 2. The Red Flash did not compete at third doubles, giving the Bison the sweep.
- Dwojewski and Vidrascu teamed up in doubles for the first time in their careers against the Red Flash. It proved to be a good pairing as the duo won 8-1. It was the first doubles victory of the spring for either player.
- Vidrascu ended a skid in singles as well. The freshman, who had opened her career with four straight wins and went 6-1 in the fall, got off to a slow start this spring. Her 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 4 singles opposite Saint Francis was her first since winning the Flight B backdraw at the Bucknell Invitational on Oct. 3 and ended a four-match losing streak. Vidrascu is now 7-5 in singles so far in her debut campaign.
- With her 6-1, 6-2 win over Tina Miller at No. 1 singles last week, Lucido became the first Bison to reach the double-digit mark in singles victories this season. The senior is now 10-7 on the year. Casey is looking to join her in the distinction having improved her record to 9-7 after not allowing a game to her Red Flash opponent at the No. 5 spot.
- Not surprisingly, Lucido continues her march up the record lists. With much of the year still to play, Lucido is fifth at Bucknell in singles wins (74-33), tied for third in doubles wins (73-29) and fifth in total wins (147-62).
- Daria Tuzhikova (Minsk, Belarus/Gymnasium No. 7) became the newest addition to the Bucknell record books. Thanks to Saint Francis' default at No. 3 doubles, the sophomore's record improved to 26-19, tying her for 23rd among Bison. Dumitrita Iepuras (Chisinau, Moldova/Germantown Friends Academy) will look to join Tuzhikova this weekend as her doubles record is now 25-26.
- Bucknell is 9-1 all-time against St. Bonaventure in a series that began in 2000. Each of the last six meetings have been decided by a score of either 7-0 or 6-1.
- When the Bison and Bonnies met last March, Bucknell came away with a 7-0 win. All but one match were decided in straight sets. Iepuras had the closest call at No. 4 singles but still defeated Amanda Pallikunnel 4-6, 7-5, (10-2).
- Bucknell and Cornell have met fairly often, but only one of those meetings has been head-to-head. The Big Red won 7-0 in their only dual in 2008. All matches were decided in straight sets, although Lucido made it close at second singles. Cornell's Sinziana Chis snuck through with a 7-6, 6-4 victory.
- The Bison and Big Red have already played once this year, running into each other at the Cornell Winter Invitational in January. Bucknell was 1-8 in matches against Cornell, and the only win came by default in singles.
ABOUT THE BONNIES
- St. Bonaventure is 4-5 in duals this season. They opened with a 4-3 win over Mercyhurst back in October but lost their first three matches of the spring to Cornell (7-0), Cleveland State (7-0) and Duquesne (7-0). A 6-1 win over Colgate got the Bonnies back on track. Most recently, however, St. Bonaventure fell 6-1 to Youngstown State and 7-0 to Pittsburgh.
- The Bonnies have only won one match in their last two matches - Kathryn Kvas at No. 4 singles at Youngstown State.
- St. Bonaventure closed out its 2009-10 campaign with a 6-15 record. The Bonnies return nearly everyone from that team, including Maria Barousse and Pallikunnel, who went 10-10 at No. 1 doubles last season. The rest of the team combined for just 13 doubles wins. St. Bonaventure's No. 1 singles player from a year ago, Manuela Marin-Salcedo, is also back. Marin-Salcedo claimed five of the team's seven wins at the top of the lineup.
ABOUT THE BIG RED
- Cornell is 4-2 headed into the weekend and will face Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday before meeting with Bucknell. The spring kicked off with three straight match victories as the Big Red defeated St. Bonaventure (7-0), St. John's (7-0) and Binghamton (6-1). Two weeks ago, they went 1-2 with a win over NJIT at the ECAC Indoor Championships.
- Ryann Young enters the weekend with a 5-1 doubles record to lead the Big Red. The freshman has played exclusively at the No. 2 position in dual matches, and her lone loss came against Harvard as Cornell fell 6-1 at the ECAC Indoor Championships.
- Cornell went 12-10 overall in 2010. The Big Red's 2-5 Ivy League mark put them in sixth place.
LOOKING AHEAD
Warmer weather awaits the Bison, which will head to Orlando, Fla., March 14-18. Bucknell will take on South Dakota State, Marist, North Dakota and Drake during the southern swing.
