Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Colgate
Men's Tennis Claims 4-1 Victory over Colgate in Patriot League Opener
4/3/2021 10:32:00 PM | Men's Tennis
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Bucknell men's tennis opened Patriot League play with a 4-1 victory over Colgate on Saturday. It was the second win of the season for the Bison, who hadn't competed against a Patriot League team in nearly two years.
Bucknell won four consecutive singles matches to secure the victory and claimed one of three in doubles play.
"It was the first Patriot League match for four of the guys. We played a talented team that beat Boston U. and went 4-3 with Lehigh," said head coach Bruce Myers. "We were badly outplayed in doubles, but we competed well in singles, winning the first sets in five matches."
Bucknell lost the doubles point, but senior Marwan Abaza and junior Nick Mueller won on court two, 7-5, to move to 2-2 as a tandem this spring.
Almost all of Bucknell's singles matches came down to the wire. The exception was Mueller, who won 6-1, 6-1 over Colgate senior Jack Albon. Mueller has been on a role of late and is now 5-2 in singles matches this season.
Mueller was followed by a win at No. 2 singles by sophomore Michael Owen. Owen won 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 against sophomore Jack Selati to move to 3-4 this spring. Finishing third and winning 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) at No. 5 singles was rookie Tim Zelikovsky.
Lastly, Cooper Bradshaw earned the final point for Bucknell with a win at No. 3 singles. The junior took his opponent, junior Rohan Gupta, to three sets and pulled off the 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10-3) victory for his second singles win this spring.
Abaza had won the first set at No. 1 singles and was in the midst of a third set before the match finished, and Torres was tied 2-2 in the third set with his opponent after surviving with a 7-6 win in the second set on court six.
"Nick Mueller is playing very well, and Tim and Michael, while not playing their absolute best, showed some grit in winning in straight sets. It made perfect sense that Cooper clinched the match on his birthday," said Myers.
Bucknell was originally scheduled to face Fordham on Sunday, April 3, but that match has been canceled. The Bison now gear up to play matches against Navy on Saturday, April 10 and Loyola (Md.) on Sunday, April 11.
Players Mentioned
