Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Tennis Set for Spring Break Bouts in Puerto Rico
3/9/2013 7:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 9, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell men's and women's tennis will say adios to Lewisburg and take on a trio of opponents each in Humacao, Puerto Rico, March 11-14. The women's squad will square off against LIU Brooklyn, Old Dominion and Minnesota State, while the men will face Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras and Florida A&M. It will be the first meeting in program history between each team.
WOMEN'S NOTEBOOK
- Jen Bush and Lydia Colvin are looking to become the next Bison to hit double-digit wins in overall singles matches and that is possible for both on the upcoming trip to Puerto Rico. Bush enters the week with an 8-8 record, while Colvin is 7-9. They would join Maria Cioffi (15-6), Elena Vidrascu (11-10) and Stephanie Pino (10-7).
- Four of those top singles players have at least one win in their last outing. Only Colvin is coming off a loss having fallen in three sets to Hofstra on Feb. 23, the last time Bucknell was on the court.
- Vidrascu won her three-set match over Hofstra's Sonia Tsay, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. That allowed the Bison junior to move past former teammate Courtney Casey on the program's all-time wins list. Vidrascu is now 19th all-time with a 38-37 record. She needs two more wins to tie Lauren Weihl for 18th (40-18).
- Vidrascu is 3-1 in matches that go to three sets or a super tie break. Only Cioffi (4-2) and Colvin (2-4) have gone the distance in more matches.
- Most of Bucknell's singles wins in dual matches have come at the No. 2 position, which has a 4-2 record, and Cioffi is responsible for most of those. The freshman is 3-1 at the second slot in the lineup. Vidrascu is 1-1.
- Bucknell is 14-21 in singles and 7-9 in doubles during dual play this spring.
- Cioffi and Vidrascu have gone 3-1 at No. 1 doubles in duals. They are the only Bison tandem that has more than one victory in the spring.
BUCKNELL WOMEN'S TENNIS SPRING BREAK SCHEDULE
(All Times Eastern)
March 11 (8:30 a.m.): vs. LIU Brooklyn
- LIU Brooklyn heads to Puerto Rico with a 2-0 record and will play once more before taking on the Bison. The Blackbirds' two wins this spring have come against Hofstra (4-3) and Saint Peter's (7-0).
- Taysha Blessington and Sanne Lowers have shored up the top of the lineup for LIU Brooklyn. The duo has combined to go 2-0 at both first and second singles. They are also 2-0 together at No. 1 doubles.
March 12 (1 p.m.): vs. Old Dominion
- Old Dominion has gotten plenty of match play in already, working its way to a 7-5 record. The Monarchs have lost their last two bouts, however, both by a score of 4-3 to UNC Greensboro and Marshall.
- A bulk of Old Dominion's victories in both singles and doubles have come at the bottom of the lineup, but Nikol Hristova has had a successful run at the second singles position. Hristova heads south with a 7-5 overall record playing primarily at No. 2.
March 14 (8:30 a.m.): vs. Minnesota State
- Minnesota State is 6-3 in its early season and will play two matches in Puerto Rico before meeting up with Bucknell. The Division III Mavericks have won two of their last three matches, defeating Minnesota, Crookston (8-1) and U-Mary (5-4) before falling to Winona State (7-2).
- The Mavericks have gotten many of their wins out of Brandi Dohmen and Shealyn Bakke. Dohmen is 5-4 at No. 1 singles, while Bakke is 8-1 at the No. 4 spot. The two have teamed up for a 4-5 mark at No. 1 doubles, but they have lost their last five.
MEN'S NOTEBOOK
- Bucknell heads to Puerto Rico having won three of their last four matches and working its way to a 4-3 overall record this spring. After winning three straight to Niagara, St. Bonaventure and Hofstra, the Bison dropped their latest decision to a tough nationally ranked Princeton on Feb. 24.
- When Bucknell takes on Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on Monday, it will be the 1,200th men's match in program history for the Bison. Bucknell is 676-513-10 all-time entering the week.
- Nick Bybel, Josh Katten and Evan Zimmer are all tied for the team lead in singles wins with 12 apiece this year. Bybel leads the group in spring duals with a 5-2 record, while Katten is 4-3 playing mostly at No. 4 singles and Zimmer is 3-4 playing primarily at No. 3.
- The Bison have tried a variety of different combos at the second through sixth singles positions. Only the top spot lineup has remained the same in all seven matches. Bybel has held a monopoly on the No. 1 position and has the best spring record on the team to show for it.
- Four Bison have hit double-digit totals in doubles wins this year. Among them are Kelly Morque with a team-best record of 17-6 and Octavio Canibe at 11-7. Morque needs one more win to equal his career high in wins, which he set last year as a junior with an 18-14 record. Canibe has already surpassed his career high having gone just 5-7 in his rookie campaign a year ago.
- As a team, Bucknell is 11-9 in doubles duals matches this spring and the Bison have used only four different tandems. Morque/Zimmer is 4-3, Aidan Lynch/Chris Tortora is 1-1, Canibe/Lynch is 3-1 and Bybel/Katten is 3-4. Only Canibe and Lynch played together in the fall, going 0-2.
- With three matches in four days, several Bison have a chance at moving up the career wins lists. In singles, Zimmer needs two more victories to tie Ed Hess for fifth and become the fifth Bison at 60 wins. The senior enters the week with a 58-37 record, ranking seventh all-time at Bucknell in singles. He can also take over sole possession of No. 3 on the doubles list with just one more win. With a 70-35 record, Zimmer is currently tied with former teammate Gregg Cohenca.
- Morque needs four more total wins to pass Asher Salam and take over eighth on the all-time combined victories list. The senior is 105-83 in his career, including records of 44-37 in singles and 61-46 in doubles. Classmates Katten (third, 137-85) and Zimmer (fourth, 128-71) are already in the top five.
- Kyle Rosen is looking to become the fourth Bison, and the first non-senior, to crack the top 30 in singles and combined wins. At 35-34, the junior needs three more singles victories to tie for 22nd all-time. He is also just four wins shy of making his list debut in combined wins with a 53-53 record.
BUCKNELL MEN'S TENNIS SPRING BREAK SCHEDULE
(All Times Eastern)
March 11 (TBA): Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
March 12 (TBA): Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras
March 14 (8:30 a.m.): Florida A&M
- Through its first few March matches, Florida A&M was 3-10 on the year. The Rattlers had dropped their last three matches to Southern Miss (4-1), Norfolk State (6-1) and Texas A&M Corpus Christi (4-3).
- Salif Kante was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Week at the end of February. Kante went 3-0 against Mercer and Southern Miss as the Rattlers picked up a win against Mercer, 6-1.
LOOKING AHEAD
Both the Bucknell men and women will return home for the first time since Feb. 2 to host Mount St. Mary's at 3 p.m. on March 19. The matches will be held at the Varsity Tennis Courts, weather permitting.
