Men's Tennis Looks to Rebound from Rare Loss with Final Home Match Saturday vs. Navy

Navy (14-18, 3-0 PL) at Bucknell (12-5, 2-1 PL)
When: Saturday, Apr. 8, 1 p.m.
Where: Varsity Tennis Courts, Lewisburg, Pa.

Bucknell (12-5, 2-1 PL) at Lafayette (2-8, 1-2 PL)
When: Sunday, Apr. 9, 1 p.m.
Where: Leopard Courts, Easton, Pa.

Bucknell at a Glance

For the first time since the first week in February, the Bucknell men's tennis team will be trying to rebound from a loss as the Bison host Navy and travel to Lafayette this weekend.
The Bison played twice in Syracuse last week, and a 5-2 win over Colgate ran their winning streak to 12 in a row, extending the fifth-longest streak in team history. The run ended last Sunday, however, as Bucknell fell 4-0 to Boston University. It was the team's first setback since a 4-3 loss to Villanova on Feb. 4.
Bucknell won 23 straight dual matches bridging the 1970 and 1971 seasons, and the team has also seen 15-match streaks in 1926/1927, 1937/1938, and 1998.
Bucknell is tied for third in the Patriot League standings, trailing Army (4-0) and Navy (3-0). Lehigh and Boston University are also 2-1.
Bucknell also saw its streak of 13 straight matches winning the doubles point come to an end against the Terriers. The No. 1 doubles match went unfinished, however, so the tandem of Harrison Gold and Brendan McDonald remained perfect at 9-0 in dual matches. McDonald himself is 23-3 in doubles on the season and has won 14 in a row dating back to a loss at No. 2 doubles against Southern Miss on Jan. 15.
Amar Tahirovic has the team's best singles record at 20-7, including a current six-match winning streak. McDonald and Michael Owen both have 15 wins, followed by Tim Zelikovsky with 14.
Owen's next singles win will be the 50th of his career.
The Bison have four matches remaining in the regular season, all against Patriot League competition. After hosting Navy this Saturday, the final three will be on the road.

Navy at a Glance/Series History

Navy has a 14-18 overall record this season. With a roster of 15, the Midshipmen often split their squad and play two different opponents at the same time. That will happen this weekend, as one group will play Patriot League opponents Bucknell and Colgate, and another will take on Drexel and George Mason.
Navy is 3-0 in Patriot League play thus far, with a 4-2 win over Boston University and 7-0 sweeps of Lehigh and Loyola.
Sasha Panyan has a team-best 10-6 mark at No. 1 singles and is 17-9 on the full season. Christian Pumpelly has a team-high 19 total wins and has played from 2-6 in the lineup.
Panyan and Luke Garner are 19-7 in doubles over the full season and 15-2 at No. 1 in dual matches.
This will be the 48th meeting between the two teams dating back to 1950, and the Bison are still looking for their first-ever win over Navy.
The Bison and Midshipmen played twice last season in Annapolis. Navy won 6-1 during the regular season and 4-0 in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. Tim Zelikovsky was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Jake Fishkin at No. 4 singles to account for Bucknell's lone point in the regular-season match. Harrison Gold and Nick Mueller also won in a tiebreaker (9-7) at No. 1 doubles, but the Midshipmen won the other two to take the doubles point.

Lafayette at a Glance/Series History

Lafayette is 2-8 on the season, with one of the wins a 4-1 Patriot League verdict at Holy Cross on March 26. The Leopards have fallen to Army and Saint Joseph's since then, and they will visit Marist on Saturday before hosting Bucknell on Sunday.
Jake Magnusson's three-set win at No. 2 singles was Lafayette's lone point in its most recent outing, a 6-1 loss to Saint Joseph's on March 29.
Bucknell has an 18-match winning streak against Lafayette and leads the all-time series 53-20 dating back to 1936. The Leopards' last series win was a 6-1 verdict in Lewisburg in 2003.
Bucknell won 7-0 in Easton last season. The Bison captured all six singles matches in straight sets, never ceding more than three games in any set

Up Next

Bucknell wraps up the regular season on Apr. 15-16 with away matches at Lehigh and Holy Cross.
The Patriot League Tournament starts Apr. 20 at Colgate.