Bucknell University
Lehigh
Rosen Rallies to Give Bucknell Men's Tennis 4-3 Win over Lehigh
4/15/2013 8:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 15, 2013
| LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell men's tennis' Kyle Rosen battled back from a set down and defeated Lehigh's Andrew Krentz, clinching a 4-3 victory for the Bison at the Varsity Tennis Courts on Monday. The Bison swept the doubles point and hung on through singles play to head into the Patriot League Tournament with a record of 13-7 overall and 3-2 in the conference.
With the win, Bucknell will still be seeded behind Lehigh (15-4, 4-2 PL) in the Patriot League Tournament but it moves up to No. 3 past Navy. The Bison will take on No. 6 Lafayette when the postseason event begins Friday in Hamilton, N.Y.
Bucknell took the early 1-0 lead with a sweep in doubles play. The two teams then alternated decisions in singles as Lehigh evened the team score with Matt Savran's straight-sets win over Josh Katten at fourth singles. Nick Bybel defeated Mark Goldberg 6-3, 6-2 to put the Bison back in front, but the lead disappeared again with the next completed match when Kelly Morque lost to Ben Gillman.
The final three matches each went three sets. Octavio Canibe was the first of that group to get off the court and he did so with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Timur Chernykh. Evan Zimmer could not hang on to his early lead at third singles, falling to Mitchell Petersen by a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Morque's and Zimmer's losses were the second of the year to their respective opponents. Morque fell to Gillman 6-3, 6-2, and Zimmer lost 6-3, 4-6, (10-6) to Petersen at the Lehigh Invitational in September.
Zimmer's loss knotted up the match 3-3 and put the pressure on Rosen who had lost the first set to Krentz 6-3. The junior came back and took the final two sets off the Mountain Hawks, 6-3, 6-4. It was the 10th singles win of the season for Rosen, who is now 10-12 on the year.
While the end of the match was high in tension, Bucknell could not have asked for a better start to the day. Bybel and Katten cruised past Jeremy Kochman and Savran without allowing a game, winning 8-0 at No. 2 doubles. Aidan Lynch and Zimmer, playing at No. 1, and Canibe and Morque at No. 3 then defeated their opponents both by a score of 8-4.
When Bucknell returns to the court it will be at the Patriot League Tournament. Wednesday's match vs. Robert Morris has been canceled.
BUCKNELL 4, LEHIGH 3
Doubles
1. Aidan Lynch/Evan Zimmer (BU) def. Mark Goldberg/Mitchell Peterson (LU), 8-4
2. Nick Bybel/Josh Katten (BU) def. Jeremy Kochman/Matt Savran (LU), 8-0
3. Octavio Canibe/Kelly Morque (BU) def. Ben Gilman/Andrew Krentz (LU), 8-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. Nick Bybel (BU) def. Mark Goldberg (LU), 6-3, 6-2
2. Ben Gilman (LU) def. Kelly Morque (BU), 6-2, 6-4
3. Mitchell Peterson (LU) def. Evan Zimmer (BU), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
4. Matt Savran (LU) def. Josh Katten (BU), 6-4, 6-2
5. Kyle Rosen (BU) def. Andrew Krentz (LU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Octavio Canibe (BU) def. Timur Chernykh (LU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2, 6, 3, 5
