Men's Tennis Hosts Loyola, Fordham, Marist on Busy Weekend

Loyola (2-2, 0-0 PL) at Bucknell (6-4, 0-0 PL)
When: Friday, March 3, 3 p.m.
Where: Central PA Tennis Center, South Williamsport, Pa.

Fordham (1-5) at Bucknell (6-4)
When: Saturday, March 4, 2 p.m.
Where: Central PA Tennis Center, South Williamsport, Pa.

Marist (0-6) at Bucknell (6-4)
When: Sunday, March 5, 12 p.m.
Where: Varsity Tennis Courts, Lewisburg, Pa.

Bucknell at a Glance

The Bison men's tennis squad has won six straight matches, its longest streak since opening the 2001-02 season with seven dual victories in a row, and now the team is set to host three home duals in as many days this weekend.
Bucknell makes its Patriot League debut on Friday against Loyola, followed by non-conference tilts against Fordham on Saturday and Marist on Sunday. The Loyola and Marist matches will be paired with the women's teams playing concurrently. (UPDATE: The Friday and Saturday matches are scheduled to be played at the Central PA Tennis Center in South Williamsport, while Sunday's match is now slated to be played outdoors on campus.)
The Bison extended their winning streak with two good wins over Siena (4-3) and St. Bonaventure (5-2) last weekend, despite playing without No. 1 player Harrison Gold due to illness.
Freshman Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega had a 4-0 weekend in singles and doubles, and his 6-3, 6-3 win over Siena's Max Acri at No. 6 singles was the clinching point in the narrow victory over the Saints.
The Bison have made big strides in doubles this spring and have now taken the doubles point in seven straight duals. Brendan McDonald (17-3), Nick Mueller (10-3), and Gold (10-3) all have double-digit doubles wins on the full season, including fall tournament play.
Freshman Amar Tahirovic, leads the team with a 15-7 singles record. That includes a 6-4 mark in dual matches, 2-1 at No. 1 and 4-3 at No. 2. Michael Owen (11-11) and McDonald (10-8) have also reached double figures in singles wins, with Tim Zelikovsky (9-8) and Mueller (8-3) closing in as well. Mueller enters the weekend with a team-best five-match winning streak.

Loyola at a Glance

The Greyhounds are 2-2 in spring dual matches, with the wins coming over Hampton (4-3) and Norfolk State (5-2) and the losses to St. Bonaventure (5-2) and Chestnut Hill (5-2).
Matt Cardano is 4-0 at No. 1 singles in those four duals. Cardano has moved up after playing in the No. 3 spot last season as a sophomore.
Oliver Davey is 2-2 at No. 3 singles and 2-2 at No. 2 doubles.
Bucknell has a 13-1 all-time record against Loyola, including 13 straight wins after the Greyhounds took the inaugural meeting in 1955. Eight of Bucknell's series wins have come since Loyola joined the Patriot League in 2013-14.
The Bison won last year's dual 6-1 in Baltimore. Bucknell took the doubles point, and straight-set singles wins from Nick Mueller, Michael Owen, and Tim Zelikovsky in the top three flights secured the victory.

Fordham at a Glance

The Rams are 1-5 this spring, with the victory a 4-3 decision over Fairfield at home on Feb. 4. Fordham opened the dual-match season with losses to Ivy League foes Brown and Dartmouth, and most recently the Rams have dropped three straight to NJIT, Binghamton, and Davidson.
The narrow win over Fairfield was made possible by three three-set wins from 4-6 players Giorgio Soemarno, Dhillon Virdee-Oakley, and Sampras Rakotondrainibe.
Fordham has been idle since Feb. 19, a 6-1 home loss to Davidson. The Rams won the doubles point in that match but dropped all six singles matches.
The Bison have a 4-3 lead in the all-time series, including a 3-1 mark from 1992-95, when the Rams played in the Patriot League.
The most recent meeting came in South Williamsport on Jan. 19, 2000, with Fordham winning 6-1. Current senior Ink Chen teamed with Marwan Abaza for a win at No. 1 doubles in that match. Abaza also won at No. 1 singles, while current seniors Michael Owen and Per Astrom dropped their singles matches. Owen's was a three-setter at No. 4.

Marist at a Glance

The Red Foxes are 0-6 on the campaign, including losses to two other Patriot League teams in Lehigh (4-3) and Army (4-0). Marist has also fallen to Hofstra (4-3), NJIT (6-1), St. John's (4-0), and North Dakota (6-1).
Marist was picked third in the MAAC preseason poll, behind Fairfield and Siena.
Christian Mills, who is in his second season at Marist after transferring from Stetson, has been sharing the No. 1 singles duties with Dylan Friedman, who is in his third season after transferring from Binghamton.
Bucknell is 1-4 all-time against Marist, but the lone win was a 7-0 whitewash last season in Poughkeepsie. The Bison won all three doubles matches all six singles bouts, with Nick Mueller's 6-4, 6-2 win over Mills providing the clinching point.

Up Next

After the busy slate this weekend, Bucknell will head to California for two matches during Spring Break. The Bison will face UC Santa Cruz on March 13 and Saint Mary's on March 15.

Men's Tennis Hosts Loyola, Fordham, Marist on Busy Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Per Astrom

Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega

Ink Chen

Brendan McDonald

Nick Mueller

Michael Owen

Amar Tahirovic

Tim Zelikovsky

Men's Tennis Hosts Loyola, Fordham, Marist on Busy Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Per Astrom

Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega

Ink Chen

Brendan McDonald

Nick Mueller

Michael Owen

Amar Tahirovic

Tim Zelikovsky

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