Men's Tennis Seeded Third, Will Face Colgate Friday in PL Tournament Quarterfinals at West Point

#3 Bucknell (15-6, 4-2 PL) vs. #6 Colgate (6-14, 2-4 PL)
Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals
When: Friday, Apr. 26, 12:45 p.m.
Where: Malek Tennis Center, West Point, N.Y.
Streaming: TrackTennis
Live Results: IonCourt

Should Bucknell Advance …

#3 Bucknell vs. #2 Navy or #7 Loyola
Patriot League Tournament Semifinals
When: Saturday, Apr. 27, 2 p.m.
Where: Malek Tennis Center, West Point, N.Y.
Streaming: TrackTennis
Live Results: IonCourt

Patriot League Tournament Final
When: Sunday, Apr. 28, 11 a.m.
Where: Malek Tennis Center, West Point, N.Y.
Streaming: TrackTennis
Live Results: IonCourt

Bucknell at a Glance

After going 4-2 against league opponents this spring, the Bison earned the No. 3 seed for the Patriot League Tournament, which is a team-flighted event that carries an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the champion. Boston University is the No. 1 seed, followed by Navy, Bucknell, Army, Lehigh, Colgate, Loyola, Holy Cross, and Lafayette.
Bucknell's lone Patriot League men's tennis title came in 1991, when the tournament utilized an individually flighted scoring format. The Patriot League moved to a team-flighted tournament in 1994, and this year's No. 3 seed matches Bucknell's all-time high. The Bison were also seeded third in 1998, 2008, 2010, and 2013. In each of those instances, they won their quarterfinal match before falling in the semis.
Bucknell will be looking to take the next step after falling agonizingly short of its first berth in the championship match last season. Seeded fifth, the Bison upset No. 4 Lehigh in the quarterfinals, and then fell 4-3 to top-seeded Navy in the semis, as the Midshipmen came from behind to win the last match remaining on the courts.
This year's squad comes in with a 15-6 dual-match record. The 15 wins equals last season's total and is tied for second-most in team history. The only other season in which the Bison won more than 15 was in 1998, when they finished 19-2.
Bucknell typically starts a young lineup, with two freshmen, four sophomores, and a senior seeing regular action this spring. Senior Tim Zelikovsky is the only player on the roster older than a sophomore.
The Bison are coming off a pair of home wins over the two Lehigh Valley teams. Bucknell won three three-set matches to hold off Lehigh 5-2 last Saturday, and then the Bison blanked Lafayette 7-0 on Sunday.
Sophomore Adam Stavrakas went 4-0 in those two matches, winning his No. 2 singles tilt against Lehigh's Marc Blekhman 9-7 in a third-set tiebreaker, and he was named Patriot League Player of the Week on Tuesday.
Sophomore Amar Tahirovic has played in the No. 1 spot all season, and he is looking to earn his second straight All-Patriot League citation. Tahirovic is 25-6 in singles over the course of the full season, including a 16-5 record in duals at No. 1. Tahirovic brings a five-match winning streak into the postseason, and he is 9-1 over his last 10 matches with the lone loss coming to Boston University standout Corey Craig in three sets.
Tahirovic is one of five Bison with at least 20 singles wins on the season, which is by far the most in team history. Before this season, Bucknell had never had more than two 20-match winners in the same campaign.
Zelikovsky leads the way with a sensational 28-3 record (19-2 duals), playing out of the 4-5-6 spots in the lineup. Sophomore Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega is 24-9 (14-6 duals) at No. 3, freshman Liam Kilmer is 23-6 (14-5 duals) playing mostly at 4 or 5, and Stavrakas is 20-10 (13-7 duals) in the second spot.
Zelikovsky's 28 singles victories are the second-most in a season in Bucknell history. Nick Bybel went 38-3 in 2014-15, and Bybel also had two 26-win seasons.
Zelikovsky has continued his climb up Bucknell's career wins chart. Sunday's straight-set win over Lafayette's Darrin Lerner at No. 4 singles was his 70th career victory, making him only the sixth Bison ever to reach that total. Zelikovsky's .753 career winning percentage (70-23) would be the 10th-best in team history, and his 114 combined singles and doubles wins are tied for 13th all-time.
Bucknell now has a 146-58 (.716) combined singles record and a 69-40 (.633) doubles mark.

Colgate at a Glance/Series History

The Raiders are 6-14 on the season, but they bring a two-match winning streak into the Patriot League Tournament. Last weekend, Colgate downed Loyola 4-1 on the road and then won a non-conference home match against Stonehill 6-1. The win over Loyola helped Colgate jump the Greyhounds into the No. 6 seed.
Colgate was 5-16 overall and 3-5 in the Patriot League last season. The Raiders hosted the 2023 Patriot League Tournament but dropped their quarterfinal match to Boston University, 4-0.
Jerome Falcon leads the team with a 9-6 singles record, playing mostly in the No. 5 spot. Benito Vlassis (4-11) has been the team's primary No. 1 singles player.
Josh Israel and Vlassis are 9-8 at No. 1 doubles, and Israel has also paired with Aidan Lee for two wins in the top spot. The Raiders are 30-27 in doubles in dual matches this spring.
The Bison are 22-55 all-time against Colgate in a series that dates back to 1942, but Bucknell has won five of the last six meetings, including a 7-0 verdict in Lewisburg on March 29. Tahirovic (1), Stavrakas (2), Bain (3), and Zelikovsky (6) all won in straight sets, while Brendan McDonald (4) and Kilmer (5) both came back to win after dropping their opening sets. That was Bucknell's first-ever 7-0 win over the Raiders.
This will be the 10th meeting between Bucknell and Colgate in the Patriot League Tournament, with eight of them coming in the quarterfinal round and two when a consolation draw existed back in the 1990s. The Raiders have won five of the previous nine postseason clashes, including the last two in 2018 and 2021.

Men's Tennis Seeded Third, Will Face Colgate Friday in PL Tournament Quarterfinals at West Point

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega

Liam Kilmer

Brendan McDonald

Adam Stavrakas

Amar Tahirovic

Tim Zelikovsky

Men's Tennis Seeded Third, Will Face Colgate Friday in PL Tournament Quarterfinals at West Point

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega

Liam Kilmer

Brendan McDonald

Adam Stavrakas

Amar Tahirovic

Tim Zelikovsky

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