Men’s Tennis Blanks Lafayette, Moves on to Patriot League Semifinals
4/18/2025 7:31:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The second-seeded Bucknell men's tennis team rolled to a 4-0 victory over No. 7 Lafayette in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals on Friday evening at the Varsity Tennis Courts. The Bison move on to the semifinal round for the fourth straight year, where they will take on No. 3 Lehigh on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Bucknell is now 17-6 on the season, with the 17 wins the second-most in team history and two shy of the record set in 1998. The Bison defeated Lafayette for the 22nd consecutive time and improved to 4-1 against the Leopards (5-17) in Patriot League Tournament play.
The match started with some drama in doubles. Liam Kilmer and Will Robinson quickly won 6-1 on Court 3, but the other two matches came right down to the wire. The No. 1 tandem of Brendan McDonald and Amar Tahirovic and the No. 2 pairing of Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega and Adam Stavrakas both trailed 4-3 before rallying late.
Bain and Stavrakas went ahead 5-4, but McDonald and Tahirovic were done first, clinching the doubles point with a 6-4 verdict over Arman Ganchi and Nicolas McKenzie. The Bison won three key deuce points in the later stages of the match, and a remarkable get by McDonald on a smash right at his feet set up a winner from Tahirovic to help level the set.
The match ended less than 50 minutes later, with Tahirovic, Stavrakas, and McDonald dropping only four combined games in straight-set wins on Courts 1, 2, and 5. Tahirovic defeated Ganchi 6-0, 6-1 for his 13th straight win; Stavrakas blanked McKenzie at love for his 22nd straight win; and McDonald ended it with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Tyler Mahaffey.
Bain took the first set 6-0 from Jake Magnusson and led 4-3 in the second at No. 4 when the result was clinched.
Bucknell and Lehigh will be meeting for the second time in a week. The Bison won 4-0 last Saturday in Bethlehem. Bucknell won the doubles point and got straight-set wins from Tahirovic (1), Kilmer (3), and Bain (4).
The Mountain Hawks defeated No. 6 Holy Cross 4-0 earlier in the day in a contest that featured a number of close matches. In other quarterfinal action, No. 1 Navy was a 4-0 winner over No. 9 Boston University, and No. 4 Army defeated No. 5 Colgate 4-2.
Army and Navy will clash in Saturday's first semifinal at 10 a.m., with Bucknell and Lehigh to follow at 2 p.m.
Bucknell is now 17-6 on the season, with the 17 wins the second-most in team history and two shy of the record set in 1998. The Bison defeated Lafayette for the 22nd consecutive time and improved to 4-1 against the Leopards (5-17) in Patriot League Tournament play.
The match started with some drama in doubles. Liam Kilmer and Will Robinson quickly won 6-1 on Court 3, but the other two matches came right down to the wire. The No. 1 tandem of Brendan McDonald and Amar Tahirovic and the No. 2 pairing of Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega and Adam Stavrakas both trailed 4-3 before rallying late.
Bain and Stavrakas went ahead 5-4, but McDonald and Tahirovic were done first, clinching the doubles point with a 6-4 verdict over Arman Ganchi and Nicolas McKenzie. The Bison won three key deuce points in the later stages of the match, and a remarkable get by McDonald on a smash right at his feet set up a winner from Tahirovic to help level the set.
The match ended less than 50 minutes later, with Tahirovic, Stavrakas, and McDonald dropping only four combined games in straight-set wins on Courts 1, 2, and 5. Tahirovic defeated Ganchi 6-0, 6-1 for his 13th straight win; Stavrakas blanked McKenzie at love for his 22nd straight win; and McDonald ended it with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Tyler Mahaffey.
Bain took the first set 6-0 from Jake Magnusson and led 4-3 in the second at No. 4 when the result was clinched.
Bucknell and Lehigh will be meeting for the second time in a week. The Bison won 4-0 last Saturday in Bethlehem. Bucknell won the doubles point and got straight-set wins from Tahirovic (1), Kilmer (3), and Bain (4).
The Mountain Hawks defeated No. 6 Holy Cross 4-0 earlier in the day in a contest that featured a number of close matches. In other quarterfinal action, No. 1 Navy was a 4-0 winner over No. 9 Boston University, and No. 4 Army defeated No. 5 Colgate 4-2.
Army and Navy will clash in Saturday's first semifinal at 10 a.m., with Bucknell and Lehigh to follow at 2 p.m.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Players Mentioned
In The Herd: Lehigh Game Preview And Sam Milligan Feature
Wednesday, September 17
In The Herd: Patriot League And Home Opener Preview And Cameron Lloyd Feature
Wednesday, September 17
In The Herd: World Championships Preview And Evelyn Bliss Feature
Tuesday, September 16
(Coaches Camera) Salem Men's Water Polo Vs. Gannon (9/21/25)
Monday, September 15