Men's Tennis Travels to Loyola for Patriot League Match Sunday Afternoon

Bucknell (11-5, 1-1 PL) at Loyola (5-10, 1-2 PL)
When: Sunday, Apr. 7, 12 a.m.
Where: McClure Tennis Center at Ridley Athletic Complex, Baltimore, Md.
LIVE RESULTS

Bucknell at a Glance

The Bison split its first two Patriot League contests at home last weekend, blanking Colgate 7-0 on Friday before dropping a tight 4-2 verdict to Boston University on Sunday.
Sunday's match against Terriers was a barnburner between two of the league's top sides. Boston University took two of the three doubles matches, and the result ultimately came down to a three-set battle at No. 1 singles, where Bucknell's Amar Tahirovic won a second-set tiebreaker to extend his match against Corey Craig. But Craig took the third set 6-2 to improve to 15-0 in dual matches this spring and clinch the verdict for his team.
Bucknell freshman Liam Kilmer won his first set in a tiebreaker after trailing 4-1 and was up 5-4 in the second at No. 5 singles when the Terriers clinched. Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega and Tim Zelikovsky also won their singles matches, and Tahirovic and Brendan McDonald earned a 6-2 decision at No. 1 doubles.
The Bison had built a four-match winning streak prior to the loss to the Terriers.
Bucknell typically starts a young lineup that features a freshman, four sophomores, and a senior. The two reserves are also freshmen, as Zelikovsky is the only player on the roster older than a sophomore.
Tahirovic leads the team from the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles. In singles, Tahirovic is 11-5 in duals and 20-6 overall, including the fall tournament schedule. He is also 23-7 in doubles, including a 9-4 record in dual matches with partner McDonald.
Zelikovsky is in the midst of an outstanding senior season playing in the bottom half of the lineup. After posting two more singles wins last week, he is now 24-2 on the full season and 15-1 in dual matches. He is also 17-7 in doubles, including a 10-4 mark with the freshman Kilmer at No. 3.
Kilmer is now 19-5 in singles and 18-7 in doubles this season.
Zelikovsky is now 66-23 in singles and 46-29 in doubles in his career. The 66 singles wins are sixth-most in Bucknell history, and his .742 winning percentage would be 10th-best in team annals.
Sophomores Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega (21-8) and Adam Stavrakas (16-9) are also enjoying outstanding seasons, and freshman Will Robinson (9-2) has filled in nicely when needed.
Bucknell now has a 123-51 (.707) combined singles record and a 63-32 (.663) doubles mark.
The Bison have won the doubles point in 11 of their 15 dual matches.

Loyola at a Glance/Series History

The Greyhounds are 5-10 overall and 1-2 in Patriot League play, and they will travel to Navy on Saturday before hosting Bucknell on Sunday.
Loyola won three straight mid-March matches over Coppin State (6-1), Villanova (4-3), and Holy Cross (4-3) but has since dropped its last three to Army (4-0), Mount St. Mary's (4-3), and Lehigh (4-1).
The Greyhounds have a strong No. 1 player in Matt Cardano, who is 11-8 on the season.
Dylan Koziol is 8-5, playing primarily in the No. 6 spot. Nick Lawless was the team's lone singles winner last time out against Lehigh and is now 7-9 on the season.
The Bison are 14-1 all-time against Loyola. The Greyhounds won the first-ever meeting 5-4 in 1955, and Bucknell has claimed all 14 since then, including a 6-1 result last year at the Central PA Tennis Center.
Bucknell was dominant in last year's clash, sweeping all three doubles matches before claiming each of the top five singles flights in straight sets. The Bison conceded more than two games in only three of the 10 sets in those five matches. Amar Tahirovic was a 7-5, 6-1 winner over Cardano at No. 1.

Next Up

Bucknell will play two more road matches next weekend, visiting Drexel on Saturday at 1 p.m., before returning to Patriot League play to face defending champion Navy on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Men's Tennis Travels to Loyola for Patriot League Match Sunday Afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega

Liam Kilmer

Brendan McDonald

Will Robinson

Adam Stavrakas

Amar Tahirovic

Tim Zelikovsky

Men's Tennis Travels to Loyola for Patriot League Match Sunday Afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega

Liam Kilmer

Brendan McDonald

Will Robinson

Adam Stavrakas

Amar Tahirovic

Tim Zelikovsky

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