Men’s Tennis Opens Spring Break Trip with 5-2 Win over Westmont

Monday, March 11

Santa Barbara, Calif.

5:30 p.m. ET

Bucknell University

Westmont

Photo by: Ben Popko

Men’s Tennis Opens Spring Break Trip with 5-2 Win over Westmont

3/11/2024 8:53:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Freshman Liam Kilmer provided the clinching point at No. 5 singles and also won his doubles match with Tim Zelikovsky, helping the Bucknell men's tennis team kick off its Southern California trip with a 5-2 win over Westmont on Monday evening. The Bison won their fourth straight match to improve to 7-2 on the season, while the Warriors fell to 3-7 in their first year at the Division II level.

For only the second time all year, Bucknell failed to win the doubles point, as Westmont picked up victories on Courts 1 and 2. But the Bison quickly took control of the match when Amar Tahirovic, Adam Stavrakas, and Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega all won in straight sets in the top three singles flights.

Tahirovic dispatched Austin Stone 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1, Stavrakas won 7-5, 6-3 over Logan Thompson at No. 2, and Bain was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Ethan Ha on Court 3.

Kilmer at No. 5 and Zelikovsky at No. 6 were the last two to take the courts and needed just one win to clinch, and Kilmer did the honors with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Owen Vander Ark. Zelikovsky finished it off with a 6-1, 6-1 verdict over Preston Hastings. Bucknell's lone senior won his 10th straight match to improve to 18-1 on the season. Kilmer is now 15-3 in singles, and he and Zelikovsky improved to 13-2 together in doubles with their win at No. 3 earlier in the day.

Bucknell is back in action on Wednesday against UC Riverside at 1 p.m. Eastern.