Bucknell University Athletics
No. 6 Men's Tennis to Play No. 3 Navy in PL Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday
4/24/2014 9:46:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LEWISBURG, Pa. – All nine Patriot League men's tennis teams will descend upon West Point, New York on Thursday for the start of this year's Patriot League Tournament, hosted by Army on the school's Malek Courts. The tournament format has expanded with the addition of two new schools to the field, and competition will stretch across four days, beginning with a single first round match on Thursday, April 24 and concluding with the 2014 championship showdown on Sunday, April 27.
Bucknell, who earned the sixth seed in the tournament with its 2-4 conference mark, will begin its run at the title on Friday afternoon with a 4 p.m. match against No. 6 Navy in the tournament quarterfinals. The winner of that contest will square off against the winner of No. 2 Boston University vs. No. 7 Loyola at 2 p.m. on Saturday, with the winner of the semifinal advancing to the championship match at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
Since the Patriot League Tournament became a team competition instead of a flighted, individual tournament in 1994, the Bison have not played in the championship match, but the squad has won one conference title, playing to victory in 1991. Last season Bucknell played to a 4-0 win over Lafayette in the quarterfinals of the tournament before dropping a 4-3 heartbreaker to Lehigh in the semifinal round.
After a snowy winter that forced several early adjustments to their schedule, the Bison have played to a 3-15 overall record, earning Patriot League wins over Loyola (6-1) and Lafayette (5-2). Sophomore Nick Bybel has led the squad this season, setting a program record with his singles mark of 26-9. Bybel has compiled a 14-4 record at No. 1 singles and has combined with senior Aidan Lynch to earn an 8-4 record at the top doubles spot. The sophomore is currently undefeated in Patriot League play.
Navy earned the third seed in the Patriot League Tournament with a 16-9 overall record and a 3-2 mark in conference action, taking league wins over Bucknell (5-2), Lafayette (6-1) and Army (4-3). The Bison and the Midshipmen have met on 38 occasions since 1977, but Navy has won all of the matches in the series. The Mids walked away with a 5-2 victory when the two schools played on March 29.
Recaps of all of Bucknell's matches will be available on BucknellBison.com.
2014 Patriot League Men's Tennis Tournament Schedule
Thursday, April 24 (first round)
- No. 8 Lafayette vs. No. 9 Holy Cross (3 p.m.)
Friday, April 25 (quarterfinals)
- No. 1 Army vs. Lafayette/Holy Cross winner (9 a.m.)
- No. 4 Lehigh vs. No. 5 Colgate (11 a.m.)
- No. 2 Boston University vs. No. 7 Loyola (2 p.m.)
- No. 3 Navy vs. No. 6 Bucknell (4 p.m.)
Saturday, April 26 (semifinals)
- Army/Lafayette/Holy Cross winner vs. Lehigh/Colgate winner (10 a.m.)
- Boston University/Loyola winner vs. Navy/Bucknell winner (2 p.m.)
Sunday, April 27
- Championship Match (1 p.m.)
Players Mentioned
