Bucknell University Athletics
Fifth-Seeded Bucknell Set to Host Patriot League Men's Tennis Tournament
4/15/2015 11:44:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell men's tennis is set to host the Patriot League Tournament at the Varsity Tennis Courts. The four-day event kicks off with the lone first round matchup on Thursday and will conclude with the championship match on Sunday. The Camp Hill Tennis Club will serve as a backup site for the event in case of unplayable weather conditions.
Bucknell received the No. 5 seed in the nine-team tournament and will take on No. 4 Colgate in a quarterfinal matchup on Friday at noon. The Bison were edged 4-3 by the Raiders earlier this season in a match that went down to the third set at No. 2 singles.
No. 8 Lafayette and No. 9 Holy Cross will meet in the first round match on Thursday at 3 p.m., with the winner advancing to take on top-seeded Army West Point at 9 a.m. No. 3 Boston University will play No. 6 Lehigh at 2 p.m., and No. 2 Navy will play No. 7 Loyola (Md.) at 5 p.m. in the tournament's other quarterfinal contests.
The Bison wrapped up the regular season with an overall record of 13-8, a 10-win improvement from last season. They went 3-2 in conference play, posting victories over Lafayette, Lehigh and Loyola (Md.), while suffering losses to Colgate and Army.
Junior Nick Bybel enters postseason play on a 19-match winning streak. The returning Patriot League Player of the Year is 20-1 during the spring, including a perfect 5-0 record against conference opponents. He posted a 6-4, 6-1 win over Jacob Daugherty at No. 1 singles in Bucknell's loss to Colgate earlier this season.
Senior Octavio Canibe also won at singles for the Bison against the Raiders, beating Win Reynolds 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3. The Bison's other point in match came with a pair of wins in doubles play, as Bybel teamed up with sophomore Bryan Adams for a victory at No. 1, and Canibe joined Ben Gerber for a win at No. 3.
Bucknell was the sixth seed in last season's conference tournament, where it dropped its opening match 4-0 to third-seeded Navy in the quarterfinal round. Prior to last season, the Bison advanced to the semifinals seven straight years.
Colgate and Bucknell last met in postseason play in 2012. The Bison won 4-1 in the quarterfinal match.
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