Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Tennis to Host Army, Lafayette on Alumni Weekend
4/11/2013 8:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 11, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell women's tennis has just five regular-season matches remaining in 2013. Four of those are at home and two of those are this weekend. The Bison will host Army at 12 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a 10 a.m. match with Lafayette on Sunday at the Varsity Tennis Courts. The Bucknell Tennis Alumni Weekend is also set for April 12-14 on and around campus.
Bucknell improved to 6-10 overall and 1-1 in the Patriot League when it capped off last week with a 4-3 victory at Colgate. The win did not come easily with the Bison having to make a late push more than once. Jen Bush and Elizabeth Morgan needed to pull out a win to give Bucknell the doubles point after the first and second positions split. The Bison duo trailed 1-4, however. Bush and Morgan, who were playing together for the first time in their careers, then won seven of the next eight games to ultimately take the 8-5 decision.
Stephanie Pino faced a similar task in her No. 6 singles bout against Colgate. With the match tied at 3-3, the freshman saw her 6-4, 5-1 lead slip away and was forced to a tiebreak. Pino then won the breaker 7-1 to give Bucknell the match and end the team's three-match losing streak. The Bison have needed the final individual match in each of their last three wins.
Getting the first win in doubles and the only other singles victories against the Raiders were Maria Cioffi and Elena Vidrascu. Cioffi is now 20-11 in singles and 20-8 in doubles this year, making her the first Bison to 20 and 20 since Lauren Lucido and Tania Varela in 2010-11. Lucido was 28-7 in singles and 21-5 in doubles that season, while Varela finished her senior campaign with records of 30-6 in singles and 20-8 in doubles.
That 2010-11 season was also the last that at least two players reached 20 doubles wins in a campaign. Vidrascu will try to help repeat the accomplishment this weekend, entering her next match with a 19-9 mark. One more victory would also give the junior sole possession of No. 10 on the all-time wins list. Her current career doubles record stands at 45-40.
Bucknell's opponents this weekend come from both ends of the Patriot League standings. Army comes to Lewisburg with an 18-5 overall record and the Black Knights are looking for their 11th consecutive undefeated league season with a 5-0 mark so far. Army has won 13 of its last 15 matches. Although it most recent outing ended in a 5-2 loss at Fordham, It has lost only one team point in its five Patriot League outings. The Black Knights swept Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Colgate before defeating Navy 6-1.
Army has a convincing 29-4 series lead over Bucknell having won every meeting since 1995. The Bison won 8-6 at No. 1 doubles last spring but still lost by a score of 7-0.
Lafayette's results have been almost completely opposite, entering the weekend at 4-7 overall and 0-3 in the league. The Leopards, which will take on Navy on Saturday, have lost three of their last four and are still looking for a league match that doesn't end in a 7-0 loss for them. Earlier this spring, they were swept by Colgate, Army and Lehigh.
Bucknell leads the all-time series with Lafayette, 22-17-1. The Bison have won the last 13 matches with the most recent meeting ending 7-0 in favor of the Bison last spring. Vidrascu and Alyssa McAndrew both met up with Leopards in the consolation singles draw of the Saint Joseph's Invitational this fall and both came away with wins. Vidrascu topped Caroline Nixon 6-3, 6-2, while McAndrew defeated Catherine Senopoulos 6-1, 6-3.
Bucknell's last Patriot League match is slated for Tuesday, April 16 at Lehigh. Play in Bethlehem, Pa., is set to start at 3 p.m. The Bison will then take on Robert Morris (April 17) and Bloomsburg (April 24) before heading to West Point, N.Y., for the Patriot League Tournament at the end of the month.
