Men's Tennis Makes 2023 Debut this Weekend vs. FGCU, Southern Miss

Saturday, January 14

Fort Myers, Fla.

5 p.m.

Bucknell University

Florida Gulf Coast

Photo by: Melissa Dudek -- UVA

Men's Tennis Makes 2023 Debut this Weekend vs. FGCU, Southern Miss

1/12/2023 9:35:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Bucknell (0-0) at Florida Gulf Coast (0-0)
When: Saturday, Jan. 14, 5 p.m.
Where: FGCU Tennis Complex, Fort Myers, Fla.

Bucknell (0-0) vs. Southern Miss (0-0)
When: Sunday, Jan. 15, 2 p.m.
Where: FGCU Tennis Complex, Fort Myers, Fla.

Bucknell at a Glance

Men's tennis is the first of the "spring" sports in action in 2023, as the Bison take on Florida Gulf Coast and Southern Miss in Fort Myers this weekend.
These are the first two of 21 dual matches on tap this spring. The Bison will once again be playing their cold-weather home matches at the Central PA Tennis Center in South Williamsport. The home opener is slated for Saturday, Jan. 21 against Delaware.
Junior Harrison Gold, an All-Patriot League selection a year ago, is expected to return to his spot at No. 1 singles. Freshman Amar Tahirovic is projected to play in the No. 2 spot, followed by senior Nick Mueller, senior Michael Owen, junior Tim Zelikovsky, and freshman Brendan McDonald.
Freshman Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega will also be in action, teaming with Owen at third doubles. Gold/Mueller and McDonald/Tahirovic are the other doubles pairs.
Bucknell competed in five fall tournaments, posting a combined 42-37 singles record and a 21-15 doubles ledger.
Tahirovic led the Bison with nine singles wins in the fall. He went 9-3 in tournament action, including a 3-0 record at the Villanova Invitational and a 5-0 mark against Patriot League opponents.
Owen (8-5), McDonald (6-4), Zelikovsky (4-3), Mueller (3-1), and Bain Moreno de Vega (3-2) all had winning singles records in the fall.
Mueller and McDonald teamed up for a perfect 6-0 doubles record in the fall, winning three each at the Bucknell and Villanova Invitationals.

Florida Gulf Coast at a Glance

The Eagles open up their dual-match season against Southern Miss on Friday before taking on Bucknell on Saturday evening.
FGCU went 15-7 overall and 7-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference last season. The Eagles were the regular-season champions and No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Sun Tournament, but they fell 4-2 to Liberty in the championship match.
The Eagles were picked to finish third in this year's ASUN Preseason Poll, behind Liberty and North Florida.
FGCU played five fall tournaments. Magnus Johnson, a two-time ASUN Player of the Year, paced the squad with an 8-6 record, while Max Damm went 6-6 and Guglielmo Stefanacci 5-3. Damm was 8-3 in doubles, including a 6-3 mark with Johnson.
Bucknell and Florida Gulf Coast have met just once previously, a 5-2 Eagles win in Fort Myers in 2008-09. Jonathan Brenner and Daniel Bednarek picked up Bucknell's points with straight-set wins at fifth and sixth singles.

Southern Miss at a Glance

The Golden Eagles make their 2023 debut at FGCU on Friday and then get a day off before playing Bucknell in Fort Myers on Sunday afternoon.
Southern Miss finished 9-10 last season but won five of its last seven before falling to second-seeded Florida Atlantic in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament.
Seven players have returned from last year's squad, including co-wins leaders Olimjon Nabiev and Shamirul Shahril, who both saw time at No. 1 singles.
Southern Miss is 2-0 all-time against Bucknell, with the wins coming in back-to-back seasons in 2015 (6-1) and 2016 (4-0). Both matches took place in Orlando.