Bucknell University Athletics
Fourth-Seeded Bucknell Men's Tennis Preps for Patriot League Tournament, Robert Morris
4/12/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 12, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell men's tennis has just one more opportunity to work out any kinks as the Bison host Robert Morris on Wednesday (3 p.m.) just ahead of their Patriot League Tournament debut against Colgate this weekend. The No. 4 seed in the tournament, Bucknell will face the Raiders at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 13 in Bethlehem, Pa., as they look for their first ever title.
ABOUT THE BISON
- Bucknell enters the week 10-7 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League. The Bison have reached a double-digit wins total for the first time since 2008. Current seniors Anton Kovic (Montreal, Quebec/Milton Academy (Mass.)) and Mark Malloy (Bronxville, N.Y./Hackley School) were freshmen on that squad that finished 11-10. An undefeated week for the Bison could bring their victory total to 14, tying them with the 2002 squad for the most wins in a decade.
- The Orange and Blue went undefeated last week against Patriot League opponents, defeating both Lehigh (5-2) and Lafayette (6-1). Among the highlights against the Mountain Hawks was a three-set comeback win for Evan Zimmer (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex) who defeated Matt Savran 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to clinch the win. Gregg Cohenca (Purchase, N.Y./Rye Country Day School) also put up a big three-set victory. The junior took down the defending Patriot League Player of the Year in Troy List, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
- Zimmer has emerged as one of Bucknell's most solid players in the middle of lineup, and he has an improved singles record to show for it. Entering his sophomore campaign, Zimmer was 10-4 at singles. This season his numbers have jumped to 16-9 for the year and 10-5 just in duals.
- Josh Katten (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK) and Kelly Morque (Rye, N.Y./Rye) first teamed up in doubles duals against Penn State on Feb. 13 and started their partnership with a 3-4 record. Since then, the duo has seven of its eight matches, including four of five Patriot League contests. The lone loss came 8-3 to Army.
- Despite his youth, Kyle Rosen (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills) has been making himself known in recent matches. The freshman is 5-1 in singles since March 22 with his only loss during that stretch coming in three sets against Army's Henry Jang-Milsten. Rosen has not lost back-to-back matches since he started the spring season 0-4.
- Bucknell finished out its Patriot League regular season with a 3-2 record. Through those five matches, the Bison were 17-13 in singles and 7-8 in doubles. They won the doubles point twice and earned one doubles sweep (vs. Colgate). Bucknell never earned a singles sweep but came close twice, going 5-1 against both Lehigh and Lafayette.
- Malloy moved up the Bucknell record lists with his singles victory over Lafayette. The senior is now in sole possession of third in all-time singles wins with a career record of 61-24.
ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT
- Bucknell will open its Patriot League Tournament run with a 9 a.m. meeting against Colgate on Friday. It will be the first time since 1998 that the Bison and Raiders have been pitted against each other in the postseason. That meeting ended with Bucknell taking a 4-0 win to place third in the tournament. Colgate has a 3-1 advantage all-time in the postseason series, however.
- Should Bucknell advance to the semifinals, it will take on top-seeded Army at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The Bison are 0-4 all-time against the Black Knights in the Patriot League Tournament. Navy is the only other team against which Bucknell has never earned a postseason win. That record also stands at 0-4. Other postseason records for Bucknell are 2-0 against Holy Cross, 2-1 against Lafayette, and 5-2 opposite Lehigh.
- Bucknell is 5-2 all-time in Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinal matches, including 4-0 since 2007. The Bison have never advanced past the semifinals, however, falling to 0-5 with last year's 4-0 loss to Navy. The Patriot League Tournament has had a single-elimination team format since the 1999 campaign.
- After failing to qualify for the Patriot League Tournament for five years, Bucknell returned to the postseason in 2007. The Bison have advanced to the semifinals each season since then.
- About No. 1 Army: The Black Knights finished Patriot League play a perfect 6-0 a year after finishing runner-up in the 2010 championship. When Bucknell and Army faced off in the regular season, the Black Knights won 6-1. Zimmer was the lone winner, 6-4, 6-0 over Donald Van Velzer at No. 3 singles. Army was the only Patriot League team to sweep Bucknell in doubles this season.
- About No. 2 Lehigh: The Mountain Hawks will host the 2011 tournament after finishing the league schedule with a 4-2 mark. The pair of losses came to Army and Bucknell. The Bison's 5-2 victory slowed the momentum Lehigh had been building after a 5-2 win over Navy in the previous match. When Bucknell and Lehigh met last week, the Mountain Hawks won the doubles point after a tiebreaker decided the final match. The Bison bounced back by taking five of six singles matches, including three-set wins for Cohenca and Zimmer and the first singles win of the season for Kovic.
- About No. 3 Navy: The Midshipmen suffered losses to Lehigh and Army this season, dropping their Patriot League record to 3-2 a year after winning the 2010 championship title. Bucknell played Navy closer than it ever had when the teams squared off in the 2011 regular season, but the Mids pulled out a 4-3 win. Zimmer took his only Patriot League loss of the year after falling 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 to Jeremy New in the decisive match. Navy has ousted Bucknell from the tournament four times since 1999 including in each of the last two semifinal rounds by a score of 4-0.
- About No. 5 Colgate: The Raiders went 1-4 in Patriot League play, earning their only win over Lafayette, 6-1. Bucknell earned the 4-3 decision over Colgate in the regular season. The Bison swept doubles play, then had to wait until the final match of the day to clinch the victory. Rosen defeated Connor Feuille 6-4, 7-5 at No. 6 singles for the deciding point.
- About No. 6 Lafayette: The Leopards closed out their league schedule with a 1-5 record having earned their only win against Holy Cross. Lafayette's most recent loss came to Bucknell, 6-1, on Sunday. This time it was Katten's turn to clinch as the sophomore defeated Scott Gelbman 6-4, 6-2. Bucknell also knocked Lafayette out of the Patriot League Tournament a year ago, winning 4-2 in the quarterfinals.
- About No. 7 Holy Cross: The Crusaders went 0-3 in Patriot League action, falling 7-0 to Army, Lafayette and Lehigh. They were also 2-10 in their last dozen matches. Bucknell and Holy Cross have not met since 1999 when the Bison walked away with a 7-0 victory. Bucknell holds a 10-0 series lead.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, April 13
- 9 a.m.: No. 4 Bucknell vs. No. 5 Colgate
- 12 p.m.: No. 3 Navy vs. No. 6 Lafayette
- 3 p.m.: No. 2 Lehigh vs. No. 7 Holy Cross
Saturday, April 14
- 10 a.m.: No. 1 Army vs. Bucknell/Colgate
- 2 p.m.: Lehigh/Holy Cross vs. Navy/Lafayette
Sunday, April 15
- 12 p.m.: Championship Match
ABOUT THE COLONIALS
- Robert Morris begins the week with a 6-11 record. The Colonials have been playing hot and cold this year. After winning their season-opener over Mercyhurst, they lost their next 11 matches. The five contests since then have gone in Robert Morris' favor as they defeated Niagara (5-2), St. Francis (N.Y.) (5-1), Saint Francis (Pa.) (5-2), Mount St. Mary's (4-3) and Wagner (6-1).
- Jose Limon leads the Colonials in singles wins with a 10-7 record while playing primarily in the middle of the lineup. Robert Morris has struggled in doubles action. Ricardo Horlle and Igor Neves are together 2-2 for the team's only wins at the No. 1 position.
- Bucknell leads Robert Morris 6-0 in the all-time series that started in 2000. The Bison won 6-1 in last year's meeting, starting with a doubles sweep. Cohenca, Katten, Gregory Maxson (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Hotchkiss), Ryan Marcil and Clark Bogle were all straight-sets winners in singles.
LOOKING AHEAD
With the bulk of the campaign over, Bucknell will take on Bloomsburg in a final regular-season match. The contest is set for 4 p.m. in Bloomsburg, Pa.
