Men's Tennis Hosts Villanova, Drexel this Weekend in South Williamsport

Saturday, February 4

South Williamsport, Pa.

1 p.m.

Bucknell University

Villanova

Photo by: Melissa Dudek -- UVA

Men's Tennis Hosts Villanova, Drexel this Weekend in South Williamsport

2/2/2023 11:15:00 AM | Men's Tennis

Villanova (0-2) at Bucknell (0-3)
When: Saturday, Feb. 4, 1 p.m.
Where: Central PA Tennis Center, South Williamsport, Pa.

Drexel (2-1) at Bucknell (0-3)
When: Sunday, Feb. 5, 12 p.m.
Where: Central PA Tennis Center, South Williamsport, Pa.

Bucknell at a Glance

The Bison have played a challenging dual-match schedule to start the 2023 campaign, and that trend continues this weekend as a couple of Philadelphia squads visit Bucknell's indoor courts at the Central PA Tennis Center. The Bison, who were idle last weekend, host Villanova on Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by a date with Drexel on Sunday at noon.
Bucknell is 0-3 to start the spring, with the losses coming against two strong southern programs in Florida Gulf Coast and Southern Miss along with one of the favorites in the Colonial Athletic Association in Delaware.
Harrison Gold was selected as the Patriot League Player of the Week on Jan. 24. Gold's 2023 singles debut was a 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 win over Florida Gulf Coast's Magnus Johnson, the two-time Atlantic Sun Player of the Year who was No. 123 in the ITA singles rankings at the time of the match. A day later, Gold posted a straight-set win over Sahmirul Shahril of Southern Miss.
Last time out, Gold dropped a tight three-setter to Delaware's James Wilkinson, who is one of the top players in the CAA. Wilkinson defeated Penn State's No. 1 player a day later.
Gold is also off to a 2-1 start in doubles. He and freshman Brendan McDonald beat Wilkinson and William Wibmer 6-3 at No. 1 doubles in the Delaware dual. Gold also teamed up with Nick Mueller for a 6-3 win against Southern Miss.
Freshman Amar Tahirovic provided Bucknell's point in the 6-1 loss to Delaware. Tahirovic was a 7-5, 6-3 winner over Luis Molina, avenging a three-set loss to Molina at the River City Open back in October. Gold and McDonald won their No. 1 doubles match 6-3, but the Blue Hens won the other two to capture the doubles point.
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.

Villanova at a Glance

The Wildcats have played twice this spring, losing a pair of 6-1 verdicts to Drexel and Delaware last weekend.
Tighe Brunetti was victorious at No. 2 singles against Delaware, and Ryan Nguyen won at No. 6 singles against Drexel.
Nguyen led the team with 17 singles wins last season.
Villanova finished 3-15 last season and lost to top-seeded St. John's 4-0 in the Big East Tournament.
Josh Robinson has been playing in the No. 1 spot for the Wildcats. He won a three-set match from Bucknell freshman Brendan McDonald at the ITA Regionals in the fall. McDonald, who is playing in the No. 6 spot in the lineup, won the first set from Robinson by a 6-2 count.
Bucknell is 13-7 all-time against Villanova. The two teams first met all the way back in 1928 (a 5-2 Bison win) and have not met since 2016 (also a 5-2 Bison win).
In that most recent matchup at Villanova on March 29. 2016, Bucknell won at each of the top five singles positions, with the top four all coming after Villanova had won the first set. No. 1 man Nick Bybel led the comeback barrage, with Daniel Wright, Max Kane, and Andre Vitiuc also pulling out three-set wins.

Drexel at a Glance

The Dragons are 2-1 on the season heading into a Saturday matchup with Penn State. Drexel lost its spring debut 6-1 at Old Dominion before bouncing back with a 6-1 win over Villanova and a 4-0 blanking of St. Francis Brooklyn.
Alan Jesaduson has a team-best 9-3 record, including the fall tournaments. He played No. 1 singles in the dual match against ODU but only played doubles in the last two contests.
Alex De Sousa played in the No. 1 spot against Villanova and St. Francis and won both matches handily, dropping only five games along the way.
Matvey Radionov is 3-0 in duals, playing from the No. 3 and 4 spots.
Drexel finished 9-9 last season, including a 7-0 win over Bucknell in Philadelphia. The Dragons were knocked out of the CAA Tournament by third-seeded Delaware, 4-1.
Bucknell and Drexel have only met six times in dual matches, with both sides winning three. The Bison won the first three (1941, 1988, 1989), while the Dragons won the last three (2018, 2019, 2022).

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