Men's Tennis Preview: Bison Debut Friday in Home Tournament

Friday, September 3

Lewisburg, Pa.

All Day

Bucknell University

Bucknell Invitational

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Men's Tennis Preview: Bison Debut Friday in Home Tournament

9/1/2021 4:16:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Setting the Scene
What: Bucknell Invitational
Teams: Bucknell, Niagara, Saint Francis (Pa.), Lafayette
Dates: Friday, Sept. 3 to Sunday, Sept. 5
Where: Varsity Tennis Courts – Lewisburg, Pa.

Tournament Details
Singles Flights: A, B, C and D
Singles Scoring: 2 out of 3 sets; match tie-break in lieu of 3rd set with no-ad scoring
Doubles Flights: A and B
Doubles Scoring: One set with no-ad scoring
Schedule:
Friday (1 p.m. start): 1 rounds of singles, 1 round of doubles
Saturday (9 a.m. start): 1 round of singles, 2 rounds of doubles
Sunday (9 a.m. start): 1 round of singles

Bucknell at a Glance
• Sixth-year head coach Bruce Myers' squad hits the courts this weekend for its first of five fall tournaments. Patriot League rival Lafayette will be here, along with Niagara and Saint Francis (Pa.). The Bison defeated the Red Flash 5-2 at the Central PA Tennis Center last March, while their scheduled match with Lafayette was canceled.
• Ryan Jurist is the team's lone senior in 2021-22. Jurist won 27 singles matches and 18 doubles matches during his first two seasons at Bucknell, and now he is back with the team after sitting out the COVID-abbreviated 2020-21 campaign.
• Junior Ink Chen is another veteran who is back with the squad after not competing last year. He is joined by fellow juniors Per Astrom, Nick Mueller and Michael Owen. Mueller was the team's top performer with a 7-4 singles record in the spring of 2021. That includes a 4-1 mark at No. 3. Owen returns after playing primarily in the 1 and 2 singles spots and 1 doubles spot in the lineup last spring.
• Bucknell has three newcomers in 2021-22: freshmen Carlos Carvalho and Nicolas Grünig, along with sophomore Harrison Gold, who transferred in from UNC Wilmington.
• Bucknell has six international players among the nine on the roster this season: Astrom (Sweden), Carvalho (Brazil), Chen (China), Grünig (Switzerland), Owen (United Kingdom) and sophomore Tim Zelikovski (Canada).

Bison at the Bucknell Invitational
• Bucknell was not able to host its annual fall tournament last year due to COVID-19, but prior to that the Bison hosted a fall event every year dating back to 2006.
• The most recent edition came in the fall of 2019, when the Bison claimed one champion and two third-place finishes.

A Look Ahead
• The Bison will make the short trip east for the Bloomsburg Invitational next Friday through Sunday. The Huskies are coached by former Bison mentor Rebecca Helt.

Season Preview

For head coach Bruce Myers and the Bucknell men's tennis team, the return of a fall tournament slate could not have come at a better time. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the 2020 fall season, and while the Bison did get in 11 dual matches in the spring, the ability to play a high volume of tennis this fall should pay dividends for a Bucknell squad that features its most depth in several years.

"We are way deeper than we have ever been," said Myers. "We have eight or nine guys who are legitimately pushing for spots in the top six. With the way the schedule has been over the last year, we have some really talented guys who just need to get back out there and play a lot of tennis. So we are really looking forward to the fall."

That tournament schedule kicks off this weekend, when the Bison welcome Lafayette, Niagara and Saint Francis (Pa.) for the annual Bucknell Invitational. The event runs from Friday through Sunday, with four singles flights and two doubles flights on tap.

The Bison will also take part in fall events at Bloomsburg, Binghamton, Saint Joseph's and Richmond in September and October. They will play in NJIT's indoor tournament in January before kicking off the 2022 dual season at Michigan State on Jan. 29.

Ryan Jurist is Bucknell's lone senior on the roster this year, and he epitomizes the importance of the fall season after taking the 2020-21 season off. Jurist was a key player for the Bison in each of his first two seasons. He went 17-12 in singles as a freshman, including 6-2 in Patriot League duals.

"Ryan is a guy who we want to get as many matches as possible this fall after not being here last year," said Myers. "He was a solid anchor for us in the bottom half of the lineup, and we are looking forward to him getting back to full speed."

Junior Chenyu "Ink" Chen has also returned to the program after remaining in his native China to study last year. A native of Shenzhen, Chen trained at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France prior to coming to Bucknell. He went 9-7 in doubles play as a freshman in 2019-20 despite battling a back injury.

"Ink is back to 100 percent, and we are very excited to have him back with us," said Myers. "He is definitely capable of being in our top six."

Per Astrom, Nick Mueller and Michael Owen round out the junior class, and all could be key players for the Bison. Astrom and Mueller are both coming off productive summers. Astrom won a doubles tournament in his native Sweden, and he has improved each year at Bucknell. After seeing limited action with the Bison thus far, he is aiming for a strong fall, which would put him in contention for a top-six spot.

Mueller was Bucknell's most successful player during the 2021 spring season after transferring in from Richmond. He went 7-4 in singles, including 4-1 from the No. 3 spot in the lineup, and he also led the squad with six doubles wins with four different partners, all coming at No. 2. Mueller played well on the ITA Summer Circuit and was a finalist at the Hershey event.

"Nick had our best record last year, and he has gotten even better this year," said Myers. "He is coming off an awesome summer, and we are really excited to see what he can do."

Owen has been a key performer in each of his first two seasons with the Bison. A native of Folkestone, United Kingdom, Owen has played in the top half of the lineup since day one. As a freshman he went 13-8 in singles and 12-8 in doubles, including a 5-3 mark at No. 1 doubles. Last season he played first and second singles and primarily first doubles. A wrist injury curtailed his summer play, but Myers said he is looking forward to Owen getting in a lot of work this fall if he is fully recovered.

Canadian sophomore Tim Zelikovsky spent the summer in Lewisburg doing academic research for his computer science major. Zelikovsky saw plenty of action as a rookie, going 4-4 in singles at the 4-5-6 spots in the lineup.

"Tim was never 100-percent healthy last year but we still saw some bright moments from him," said Myers. "He has improved since he came in last year and is likely a top-six guy."

New to the sophomore class is Floridian lefty Harrison Gold, who transferred to Bucknell from UNC Wilmington. Gold originally signed with UNCW as a five-star recruit who was ranked as high as No. 30 by TennisRecuiting.net.

"Harrison has a chance to be the best player in the Patriot League, it's just a matter of getting him where he needs to be physically," said Myers. "We're thrilled to have him at Bucknell."

Brazilian Carlos Carvalho and the Swiss Nicolas Grünig are the team's two freshman newcomers. Grünig deferred his arrival at Bucknell by a year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, and he spent the year fulfilling his required commitment in the Swiss Army. A decorated junior player, Carvalho holds dual citizenship in Brazil and Italy, and he trained primarily in Spain.

"We are very excited about both freshmen," said Myers. "Nico is in great shape after spending last year doing his military service, he just needs match experience here at the college level. For Carlos it's a matter of consistency. He has a ton of raw talent and has had some really great wins, but he needs to do it on a more consistent basis."

Bucknell was the No. 4 seed at the Patriot League Tournament last spring, but after beating Colgate 4-1 during the regular season the Bison fell to the fifth-seeded Raiders 4-3 in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals. Myers feels with the addition of a No. 1-type player in Gold and good health, his team has a great chance to move up from that fourth spot in the Patriot League standings.

"We have a lot of talented players coming back this year, and I think we will have good depth to our lineup," said Myers. "Doubles is still very much a work in progress, but with a full fall season we will be using the tournaments to mix and match and play around with some different teams. I'm excited to see how it plays out."