Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Tennis Travels to Bloomsburg for Non-League Finale
4/18/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 18, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell tennis will wrap up its regular-season schedule on Tuesday with a trip to Bloomsburg. The 4 p.m. match will be the last of the year for the men's squad, while the Bison women will be using it as a final tune-up for the Patriot League Tournament, set to get underway later this week.
ABOUT THE BISON
- Despite having its Robert Morris match rained out, the Bucknell men's team had its share of matches last week at the Patriot League Tournament. A 4-1 quarterfinal win over Colgate sent the Bison to their fifth consecutive semifinal bout on Saturday. The postseason ended there, however, as top-seeded Army knocked out No. 4 Bucknell 4-2.
- Against the Raiders, Bucknell earned the doubles point and sealed the victory with singles wins from Josh Katten (Plainview, N.Y./Planview JFK), Mark Malloy (Bronxville, N.Y./Hackley School) and Evan Zimmer (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex). The Bison also took the doubles point off the Black Knights the next day, giving them an unexpected boost after Army swept doubles action during the regular season. Bucknell could not hang on, however, as Gregg Cohenca (Purchase, N.Y./Rye Country Day School) was the only other Bison to claim a point after his three-set win at No. 1 singles.
- With his and Cohenca's win at No. 2 doubles, Malloy improved his career total record to 117-60. That puts him in a tie with Jonathan Brenner for third all-time at Bucknell. He trails only Ryan Sandburg (150-113) and Ira Reibeisen (145-114) on the list.
- Regardless of the outcome of Tuesday's match at Bloomsburg, Zimmer is guaranteed to finish the season as the Bucknell leader in singles victories. The sophomore is currently 17-10 on the year. Malloy is second on the team with a singles record of 15-7.
- Cohenca will be looking to push his singles record into winning territory when Bucknell and Bloomsburg square off. The junior is currently 13-13 on the year. Should he improved to a better than .500 mark, it would be the first winning season of Cohenca's career. His 16 doubles wins is already a single-season career high.
- The Bucknell women's team had three matches scheduled last week but was only able to get one of them played. The Bison earned their second consecutive sweep, easing past Lehigh 7-0 in Bethlehem, Pa., on Tuesday. Matches against Robert Morris and Georgetown were later called on account of rain.
- Lauren Lucido (Woodstock, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) got past her Lehigh opponents easily in both singles and doubles last week. With the two wins, the senior is now 85-36 in singles and 81-35 in doubles for her career. She needs just one more win to tie for first in program history in both.
- With just under a week until the start of the Patriot League Tournament, Bucknell finds itself in third place in the league standings. The Bison trail Army (5-0 in league matches) and Navy (3-0). Bucknell will likely be the third seed at the start of the tournament on Friday.
ABOUT THE HUSKIES
- Bloomsburg will wrap up its regular season on both the men's and the women's side with their matches against Bucknell. The men are 9-5 on the year, while the women are 13-4.
- The Bloomsburg men had a six-match winning streak interrupted last week and have since dropped their last three matches. The recent streak includes losses to Kutztown (6-3), West Virginia Wesleyan (5-2) and Bluefield State College (5-4).
- Ricky Dove leads the Huskies' men's team in singles wins this year. The junior is 14-7 for the year and 8-6 at the No. 1 position. He and Mark Schroeder have teamed up for a 16-3 doubles mark, which includes a 12-2 record at No. 1.
- The Bloomsburg women have won eight of their last nine matches. The lone loss came to Charleston (West Virginia), but the Huskies have since defeated Holy Family 5-1.
- Danielle Walsh, who was named the PSAC Player of the Week today, is 13-4 in singles and 12-4 in duals. She has played everywhere from the No. 2 position down to No. 6. Michelle Perez and Emily Palko are the only duo to reach double-digit doubles wins. They are 11-3 for the year and 10-3 at No. 1.
- Bloomsburg is leading in the men's series with Bucknell, 14-12. Play was suspended because of lightning before a decision could be reached last year, and their meetings were canceled in each of the previous two seasons. The last time the Bison and Huskies actually played was in 2007, and Bucknell won 6-1.
- Bucknell has a commanding lead in the women's series, 30-8. The Bison won in 2010 by a score of 6-0 after doubles play was called due to the weather. The closest match came at the top of the lineup, but Tania Varela still walked away with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Katie Hasyn. Dumitrita Iepuras (Chisinau, Moldova/Germantown Friends School) wrapped things up against Palko without a scratch at third singles, winning 6-0, 6-0.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bucknell men's team's season will be complete following the Bloomsburg match, but the women's squad will head straight into its Patriot League Tournament. The championship runs April 22-24 in Annapolis, Md.
