Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Zimmer's Three-Setter Hands Bucknell Men's Tennis 5-2 Win Over Lehigh
4/7/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 7, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Evan Zimmer (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex) rallied from an early deficit to clinch a three-set victory and push Bucknell men's tennis past Lehigh 5-2 at the Varsity Tennis Courts on Thursday afternoon. The sophomore clinched the all-important fourth point by defeating Matt Savran 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, helping the Bison (9-7, 2-2) bounce back in singles play.
Bucknell and Lehigh (12-6, 3-2) could hardly have played a closer match. The Mountain Hawks took the lead with the doubles point, but even that was not decided until a tiebreak at the No. 1 position. Anton Kovic (Montreal, Quebec/Milton Academy (Mass.)) and Zimmer battled Troy List and Collin Laffey to the bitter end in a match that would determine who took the quick 1-0 lead. The Bison duo broke Laffey's serve to go up 8-7, but the Mountain Hawks evened it back up right away. Bucknell again tried to come from behind in the breaker but couldn't pull out the victory, falling 9-8.
Kovic, Mark Malloy (Bronxville, N.Y./Hackley School) and Kyle Rosen (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills) ticked off three quick wins in singles and brought Bucknell to within a single point of the team victory. That put the deciding match in the hands of either Zimmer at No. 3 singles or Gregg Cohenca (Purchase, N.Y./Rye Country Day School) at No. 1.
Both Zimmer and Cohenca had dropped their opening sets but kept things interesting by eventually forcing the tilt to a third frame. Going up against Savran, Zimmer took the second set 6-2 and looked to have the third under control. A break of serve handed Zimmer the final set and the 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 decision.
Zimmer has now won five of his last six singles matches, including three straight against Patriot League foes. He becomes the first Bison to reach 15 wins this season, improving his record to 15-9.
Although the match had already been decided in Bucknell's favor, Cohenca continued to work his way toward the win at first singles against the 2010 Patriot League Player of the Year in List. List won the opening set 6-4, but Cohenca evened things up with a 6-3 score in the second. With the sun starting to set, Cohenca finally closed things out 7-5. The win ended a seven-match losing streak for Cohenca, giving him his first singles victory since March 14.
Bucknell's lone win in doubles came courtesy of Josh Katten (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK) and Kelly Morque (Rye, N.Y./Rye). The duo defeated Mark Goldberg and Ryan Krueger 8-4 at the No. 3 spot.
Bucknell will face its final Patriot League opponent of the regular season on Sunday. The Bison host Lafayette at 10 a.m. on Senior Day.
Bucknell 5, Lehigh 2
Doubles
1. Troy List/Collin Laffey (L) def. Anton Kovic/Evan Zimmer (B), 9-8
2. Matt Savran/Andrew Krentz (L) def. Gregg Cohena/Mark Malloy (B), 8-3
3. Josh Katten/Kelly Morque (B) def. Mark Goldberg/Ryan Krueger (L), 8-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. Gregg Cohenca (B) def. Troy List (L), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
2. Anton Kovic (B) def. Collin Laffey (L), 6-3, 6-4
3. Evan Zimmer (B) def. Matt Savran (L), 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Mark Goldberg (L) def. Josh Katten (B), 6-2, 6-2
5. Mark Malloy (B) def. Ryan Krueger (L), 6-3, 6-3
6. Kyle Rosen (B) def. Andrew Krentz (L), 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 6, 4, 3, 1
