Bucknell University Athletics
Third-Seeded Bison Men's Tennis to Meet Lafayette in Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals
4/17/2013 8:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 17, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. - In a long season that began in September, Bucknell men's tennis will finally get to the postseason with the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and the chance to take on No. 6 Lafayette in Hamilton, N.Y., on Friday. Match time is scheduled for 5 p.m. The Bison, who closed out the regular season at 13-7 overall and 3-2 in conference play, are looking for a third straight postseason win over the Leopards and their seventh consecutive trip to the semifinals.
PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, April 19
10 a.m.: No. 4 Navy vs. No. 5 Colgate
2 p.m.: No. 2 Lehigh vs. No. 7 Holy Cross
5 p.m.: No. 3 Bucknell vs. No. 6 Lafayette
Saturday, April 20
10 a.m.: No. 1 Army vs. Navy/Colgate
2 p.m.: Lehigh/Holy Cross vs. Bucknell/Lafayette
Sunday, April 21
12 p.m.: Patriot League Championship
BISON NOTEBOOK
- Bucknell is 4-3 as the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament since the event went to a spring team format. The last time the Bison were seeded third was in 2010 when they also faced Lafayette in the first round and won 4-2. Bucknell has never been seeded higher than third.
- Bucknell is 2-1 against Lafayette in the Patriot League Tournament. Prior to the teams' meeting in 2010, they also played in the 1994 consolation round (Lafayette, 4-2) and the 1996 fifth-place match (Bucknell, 4-1).
- Bucknell is 9-5 all-time in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison have won their last six quarterfinal bouts, defeating Lehigh three times, Colgate twice and Lafayette once during that stretch. Bucknell has never advanced past the semifinals with the tournament in its current format.
- The Bison could meet Lehigh in the semifinal on Saturday. Bucknell has played Lehigh seven times in the Patriot League Tournament, more than any other team. The Bison have a 5-2 postseason record against the Mountain Hawks.
- In the Patriot League Tournament, Bucknell is 2-0 vs. Holy Cross, 2-3 vs. Colgate and 0-5 vs. both Army and Navy.
- During the 2013 Patriot League regular season, Bucknell was 12-2 in doubles play. The only two losses came against Navy as Kelly Morque/Evan Zimmer and Octavio Canibe/Aidan Lynch fell. Those two teams have swapped partners since then. Each tandem in the current lineup - Zimmer/Lynch, Morque/Canibe and Nick Bybel/Josh Katten - is 4-0 against league foes this spring.
- Bybel finished his first league campaign with a 3-2 singles record. Included in his wins list was a victory at the No. 1 position against Navy. It was Bucknell's first win at first singles against the Midshipmen since 1956.
- Bybel won his last two singles matches, defeating Lafayette and Lehigh in straight sets. Prior to that, the freshman had lost three straight. It was his first and only set of consecutive losses in singles this season.
- Zimmer enters the tournament with a seven-match winning streak in doubles. His last loss came against Navy, a 9-7 decision when playing with Morque.
- Just a few days after Katten became the all-time wins leader at Bucknell, Kyle Rosen made his debut on the same list. Rosen is tied for 34th in program history in combined victories with a record of 57-59. The junior cracked the top 25 in singles wins earlier this year and currently ranks 22nd (39-40).
- No Bison on the current roster has more career Patriot League wins than Katten. The senior is 17-2 in doubles and 12-8 in singles. Only Zimmer comes close to his classmate's total, at 14-6 in doubles and 12-6 in singles. Together, Zimmer and Katten went a perfect 5-0 in doubles last spring.
- Zimmer is 5-1 in his career in Patriot League Tournament doubles. He is also 3-3 in postseason singles. No current Bison has more wins in either category.
- When Bucknell hits the courts this weekend, Canibe and Lynch will likely be making their postseason debuts. In their regular-season Patriot League careers, the junior Lynch is 7-3 in doubles, while the sophomore Canibe is 4-1 in doubles and 2-3 in singles.
AGAINST THE FIELD
- No. 1 Army Black Knights (16-6, 6-0 PL): Bucknell lost to Army, 4-2, on April 12 at the West Branch Tennis Club. The Bison won the doubles point with victories by Lynch/Zimmer and Canibe/Morque. Zimmer was responsible for Bucknell's second team point, defeating Caison Best 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 at third singles.
- No. 2 Lehigh Mountain Hawks (15-5, 4-2 PL): Bucknell defeated Lehigh 4-3 on Monday in Lewisburg. The Bison swept doubles before back-and-forth singles play made for tense evening. Rosen eventually clinched the win in the final match of the day, defeating Andrew Krentz 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at fifth singles. Bybel and Canibe also earned singles wins. The team victory pushed the Bison up to their No. 3 seed in this weekend's tournament.
- No. 4 Navy Midshipmen (15-11, 3-2 PL): Bucknell lost 5-2 in its Patriot League Opener on March 23 in Annapolis, Md. It was the only conference match in which the Bison did not win the doubles point. Bybel defeated Calvin Mark 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) and Rosen defeated Alex Sisk 6-2, 6-3 at the top and bottom of the singles lineup.
- No. 5 Colgate Raiders (7-10, 1-4 PL): Bucknell won 5-2 against Colgate in Hamilton on April 6. The Bison swept doubles play before getting straight-sets wins from Morque, Zimmer, Katten and Canibe.
- No. 6 Lafayette Leopards (5-11, 1-5 PL): Bucknell swept Lafayette easily last Sunday. The closest doubles match was an 8-5 win at the No. 1 position and no Bison allowed his singles opponent to win more than six total games in a match. Highlighting the day, however, was a pair of wins from Katten that gave him Bucknell's all-time record for combined victories.
- No. 7 Holy Cross Crusaders (1-10, 0-3 PL): Bucknell and Holy Cross did not meet in the 2013 regular season. The last time these two teams played was in the 1998 Patriot League Tournament. The Bison won 6-1.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Patriot League Tournament does not mark the end of the season for the Bison. Bucknell will host Bloomsburg at 4 p.m. on April 24 at the Varsity Tennis Courts.
