Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Tennis Aims for More Titles at Lehigh Invite
10/11/2012 8:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Oct. 11, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell men's tennis has just a few weeks left remaining on its fall schedule, but before they settle in for the winter, the Bison will head to Bethlehem, Pa., for the Lehigh Invitational Oct. 12-14. Bucknell is eyeing a title at its second consecutive event after winning two of three draws at its own tournament a few weeks ago. Action at the three-day tournament is scheduled to be played out at the Lewis Tennis Center and Ulrich Varsity Courts.
The last time the Bison were in action was at the Bucknell Invitational two weeks ago. Chris Tortora (West Orange, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) won the Flight B in singles over Jonathan DeFrancesch (Manhasset, N.Y./Friends Academy), robbing his teammate of his second title of the season, 1-6, 6-4, (10-6). Kelly Morque (Rye, N.Y./Rye) and Octavio Canibe (Spring, Texas/The John Cooper School) were 9-8 (8) doubles winners over Josh Katten (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK) and Evan Zimmer (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex).
Bucknell now has six titles - four singles and two doubles - this fall. Morque has had a hand in both doubles championships, making him the only Bison with more than one trophy to his resume. The senior also won the Bucknell Quad with Aidan Lynch (La Canada, Calif./La Canada Flintridge). In total, Morque is 11-2 in doubles, including 4-0 with Canibe, 4-0 with Lynch and 3-2 with Katten.
Only Morque has more than nine doubles wins this fall, but several teams have seen their share of success. Of the 11 different combinations the Bison have used, seven of them are at .500 or better. Bucknell has had similar numbers to smile about in singles as well. Six of nine Bison are at better than .500 entering the weekend, with Katten and DeFrancesch leading in wins. Both are at 7-3, while Zimmer and Tortora have 6-4 singles records.
Beyond just trying to improve their records for this fall, Katten, Morque and Zimmer are also attempting to climb up the lists for most wins in program history. Among the next major milestones to fall to the trio is the 100-victory mark for Morque. With a career combined record of 96-72, he needs just four more total wins to become the 13th Bison to hit the century plateau.
After the Lehigh Invitational, Bucknell has just one more stop on its fall schedule. The Bison will compete at the ITA Regionals in Charlottesville, Va., Oct. 18-22. They will then turn their attention to dual action with Saint Francis (Pa.) on Feb. 2, 2013.
