Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
NJIT Spring Tournament
Men's Tennis Concludes Successful First Day at NJIT Tournament
1/25/2020 8:27:00 PM | Men's Tennis
NEWARK, N.J. – Bucknell men's tennis completed the first day of the NJIT tournament with five winners in the first round of singles and a pair of doubles victories. The Bison also picked up a pair of singles victories in the second round, as both Marwan Abaza and Michael Owen each went undefeated in singles play on the day.
Abaza defeated his opponents in both rounds of singles playing in the top spot. The junior began the day with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Hofstra sophomore Shawn Jackson. Abaza then went on to collect a 6-4, 6-3 win over NJIT's Luka Dragoljic. Abaza is now 3-0 in singles play this spring.
Also finishing 2-0 in singles today and moving to 2-1 for the spring was Owen. The freshman took down Hofstra's Giacomo Pezzoli by a score of 6-1, 6-1 in the opening round. In the second round, Owen turned in a 6-1, 6-4 victory over NJIT sophomore Juan Bejarano.
Cooper Bradshaw, Ryan Jurist, and Guillermo Torres were all successful in the first round of singles as well, giving the Bison a 5-1 singles record in the first round. Also notable in the singles matchups were two strong performances by Chunyu Chen and Torres in the second round. Both freshmen forced third sets before falling in the tiebreak. For Chen, it was the freshman's first singles action this spring.
"Great to have Chunyu playing singles," said head coach Bruce Myers. "It gives us many more options going forward."
The Bison also had a strong showing in the first round of doubles on Saturday, winning two of three matches. Owen and Bradshaw picked up a 6-3 win over the NJIT tandem playing in the number two doubles spot. Their victory was followed up by a 6-4 win from Jurist and Torres over the number three duo from Fairfield.
"It was a really solid showing from the group today," said Myers.
Tomorrow, the Bison will compete in two more rounds of doubles and the third and final round of singles. The first matches are set to begin at 9 a.m. and will be streamed live.
Players Mentioned
