Bucknell University Athletics
Women's Tennis to Face Two Returning National Qualifiers During Spring Trip
3/14/2016 3:26:00 PM | Women's Tennis
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's tennis team heads to Florida this week where it will play four matches during its annual spring break trip. The Bison open play on Tuesday with a match against Quinnipiac. They will play matches against Fairleigh Dickinson and Milwaukee on Wednesday and will conclude play against Bryant on Thursday.
The Bison will take on two returning NCAA qualifiers during the week, as Quinnipiac is the returning champ in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and Bryant is the defending champion in the Northeast Conference.
Bucknell is off to a solid start this season with a 3-2 record, including wins over Saint Francis, Niagara and St. Bonaventure. The Bison nearly added a fourth win, but were edged 4-3 by a Delaware team that improved to 6-1 with its sixth straight win.
Part of Bucknell's success this season has come from a dramatic improvement in doubles from a season ago. The Bison are 12-3 in doubles and have secured the first point in all four of their wins. They are well on their way to passing their doubles win total of 18 from last year, which came in 57 contests.
Sophomore Lisa Jouravleva and Lauren Fishbein have teamed up for a perfect 5-0 record at the No. 2 spot. The pair are 7-1 during the fall and spring seasons combined. Senior Maria Cioffi and junior Michele Urbinati opened the spring season with four straight wins before suffering their first loss in the match against Delaware.
Cioffi continues to climb her way up the Bucknell record books and has the all-time singles wins mark in her sights. She currently ranks fifth all-time with a record of 77-33 and needs just three more wins to pass Nada Curcic and Veronica Brown for third. Cioffi needs 11 more wins to pass Lauren Lucido's record of 87 from 2007-11. She also ranks sixth in doubles victories with 69 and sixth in combined victories with 146.
Cioffi is 3-2 this spring, including three-set wins in each of her past two matches. Her last loss also came in three sets.
Fellow senior Stephanie Pino is also moving up the Bucknell record book. She is 2-1 in singles and 2-2 in doubles this spring. That puts her 20th all-time at Bucknell in singles wins with 41, 12th in doubles wins with 45 and 16th in combined wins with 86.
Quinnipiac | Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. | Lake Cane Tennis Center (5108 Turkey Lake Lane, Orlando, FL)
- Quinnipiac is 4-6 with losses in each of its past five matches, the most of recent of which came by a 4-3 score to Army West Point.
- All four of the Bobcats' wins came during the fall season.
- The Bobcats advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the MAAC Tournament last season. They went 8-0 in league play during the regular season and shut out both of their opponents in the conference tournament.
- Jennifer Lu has racked up a 4-1 record at No. 2 singles. She is 5-3 overall in dual matches.
- Bucknell is 3-5 in the all-time series with Quinnipiac. The teams haven't met since the Bobcats recorded a 5-2 win in 2012.
Milwaukee | Wednesday, Noon | Sanlando Park (401 W. Highland St., Alamonte Springs, FL)
- Milwaukee is 5-5 after recording back-to-back wins over Chicago State and Northern Iowa.
- The Panthers are just one win shy of matching their win total from a season ago.
- Laurie Clark is 6-2 during the spring, all coming at No. 3 singles.
- Bucknell and Milwaukee will meet for the first time in program history.
Fairleigh Dickinson | Wednesday, Noon | Sanlando Park (401 W. Highland St., Alamonte Springs, FL)
- Fairleigh Dickinson is 1-0 with a 5-2 win over Saint Peter's.
- The Knights were 2-15 last season with both wins coming against Sacred Heart.
- Bucknell and Fairleigh Dickinson have met just one other time. The Bison were 7-0 winners in 2009.
Bryant | Thursday, Noon | Star Island Resort (5000 Ave. of the Stars, Kissimmee, FL)
- Bryant is 1-6 with losses in each of its past three matches.. The defeats have come to Boston University, Brown and Stony Brook.
- The Bulldogs qualified for the NCAA Tournament after winning the NEC Championship last season. They shutout top-seeded LIU Brooklyn 4-0 for the league title.
- Bucknell and Bryant will meet for the first time in program history.
Players Mentioned
