Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Men's Tennis Concludes Regular Season with Narrow 4-3 Loss to Lehigh
4/17/2021 7:53:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men's tennis team hosted Lehigh at the Varsity Tennis Courts on Saturday and suffered a narrow 4-3 defeat to the Mountain Hawks. The Bison claimed the doubles point with two victories and took two in singles before ultimately falling in the regular season finale. It was also Senior Day at the Varsity Tennis Courts, and the Bison celebrated the careers of Marwan Abaza and Sam Yildirimlar.
"To have Senior Day after all that my seniors have gone through, and to have so many fans there, was simply amazing. A big tip of my cap to all of the Bucknell students, parents and faculty who made it out to the match to support the guys," said head coach Bruce Myers.
The Bison began the day by winning the top two doubles matches to secure the first point. Abaza and sophomore Michael Owen captured a 6-2 victory over Lehigh's Harry Wang and Zack Elliot. Their efforts were followed by a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles by Nick Mueller and Tim Zelikovsky.
"Playing a match without Cooper Bradshaw and a less than 100 percent Marwan Abaza, the guys could have easily mailed this one in. It was the support of the fans that got everyone going and pushed us through the doubles point," said Myers.
Abaza had won the first set of his No. 1 singles match against Elliot before surrendering the point by default. Fellow Bison senior Yildirimlar picked up his third singles win of the season by defeating Lehigh's Jeremy Learner 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-4 in a tight battle on court six. Zelikovsky also earned a singles point for Bucknell, winning 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5. Zelikovsky is now 3-3 in singles play this spring.
"Tim played a solid match start to finish, and full marks to Sam for stepping in and winning a three-set battle on court six. I think the Lehigh team enjoyed the atmosphere, and full credit to them for winning in a hostile environment," said Myers.
The Bison look ahead to the Patriot League Tournament, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday, April 22 in Bethlehem, Pa.
"We have five days to prepare for the conference tournament, and we'll start that process tomorrow," said Myers.
Players Mentioned
