Saturday, April 19
Lewisburg, Pa.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
4
vs
0
Lehigh (PL Semifinals)
Men’s Tennis Sweeps Lehigh to Advance to Patriot League Title Match for First Time
4/19/2025 7:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis
RESULTS
LEWISBURG, Pa. – For the first time since the Patriot League adopted a team-formatted men's tennis championship in 1994, Bucknell has earned a berth in the tournament final. The second-seeded Bison got out to a strong start in Saturday's semifinal match against No. 3 Lehigh, waited out a weather delay of more than two hours, and then finished off the Mountain Hawks 4-0 to set up a rematch with top-seeded Navy in the final on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Varsity Tennis Courts.
This was the 18th time that the Bison had reached the Patriot League semifinals, but despite some close calls in recent years, they had never been able to get over the hump. Now Bucknell will have a chance to play for their first Patriot League title since 1991, when it was an individually flighted format.
Much like Friday's quarterfinal against Lafayette, Bucknell gutted out some tough doubles matches to take the early point. Adam Stavrakas and Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega won 6-4 at No. 2, and with third doubles all knotted at 5-5, the top pairing of Amar Tahirovic and Brendan McDonald picked up a key break at 5-all and then served it out at love to beat Marc Blekhman and Sean Jaeger 7-5.
Bucknell had won three opening sets in singles and led in three others when a brief thunderstorm halted play. A few minutes of heavy rain soaked the courts, and the action resumed after a delay of two hours and 12 minutes.
Tahirovic was the first one done on Court 1, beating Jose Murariu 6-2, 6-2. Stavrakas took his first set from Blekhman 6-1, but after the delay found himself locked up in a tight 5-5 second set against Lehigh's all-conference senior. Stavrakas went ahead 6-5 on his serve, and then cashed in on his second match point, picking up the service break and a 7-5 set win.
Lehigh had second-set leads on Courts 3, 4, and 6, but McDonald ended it at No. 5 singles with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Jackson Morash. It was the second straight day that McDonald provided the clinching point, and the junior is now 4-0 in singles and doubles on the weekend.
Bucknell improved to 18-6 on the season and is now one win shy of the program record set in 1998. The Bison have an opportunity to make some history on Sunday. Not only would a victory tie the school record and give them their first championship in the team tournament era, but it would be Bucknell's first-ever win over the Midshipmen. Navy leads the all-time series 52-0, including a 4-2 win in Lewisburg just two weeks ago.
Navy reached the final after a 4-2 win over No. 4 Army on Saturday morning. It was a tightly contested match that ended when Nathan Nguyen beat Alan Ton in a third-set tiebreaker at No. 2 singles. Army was leading 3-1 in the third set on Court 4 when the match was clinched.
Sunday's championship match starts at 1 p.m., and there is no admission charge.
LEWISBURG, Pa. – For the first time since the Patriot League adopted a team-formatted men's tennis championship in 1994, Bucknell has earned a berth in the tournament final. The second-seeded Bison got out to a strong start in Saturday's semifinal match against No. 3 Lehigh, waited out a weather delay of more than two hours, and then finished off the Mountain Hawks 4-0 to set up a rematch with top-seeded Navy in the final on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Varsity Tennis Courts.
This was the 18th time that the Bison had reached the Patriot League semifinals, but despite some close calls in recent years, they had never been able to get over the hump. Now Bucknell will have a chance to play for their first Patriot League title since 1991, when it was an individually flighted format.
Much like Friday's quarterfinal against Lafayette, Bucknell gutted out some tough doubles matches to take the early point. Adam Stavrakas and Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega won 6-4 at No. 2, and with third doubles all knotted at 5-5, the top pairing of Amar Tahirovic and Brendan McDonald picked up a key break at 5-all and then served it out at love to beat Marc Blekhman and Sean Jaeger 7-5.
Bucknell had won three opening sets in singles and led in three others when a brief thunderstorm halted play. A few minutes of heavy rain soaked the courts, and the action resumed after a delay of two hours and 12 minutes.
Tahirovic was the first one done on Court 1, beating Jose Murariu 6-2, 6-2. Stavrakas took his first set from Blekhman 6-1, but after the delay found himself locked up in a tight 5-5 second set against Lehigh's all-conference senior. Stavrakas went ahead 6-5 on his serve, and then cashed in on his second match point, picking up the service break and a 7-5 set win.
Lehigh had second-set leads on Courts 3, 4, and 6, but McDonald ended it at No. 5 singles with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Jackson Morash. It was the second straight day that McDonald provided the clinching point, and the junior is now 4-0 in singles and doubles on the weekend.
Bucknell improved to 18-6 on the season and is now one win shy of the program record set in 1998. The Bison have an opportunity to make some history on Sunday. Not only would a victory tie the school record and give them their first championship in the team tournament era, but it would be Bucknell's first-ever win over the Midshipmen. Navy leads the all-time series 52-0, including a 4-2 win in Lewisburg just two weeks ago.
Navy reached the final after a 4-2 win over No. 4 Army on Saturday morning. It was a tightly contested match that ended when Nathan Nguyen beat Alan Ton in a third-set tiebreaker at No. 2 singles. Army was leading 3-1 in the third set on Court 4 when the match was clinched.
Sunday's championship match starts at 1 p.m., and there is no admission charge.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
12
Jose Murariu / 0 [LEH]
22
66
#2 Singles Match
12
Marc Blekhman / 0 [LEH]
15
67
#3 Singles Match
123
Sean Jaeger / 0 [LEH]
540
71UF
#4 Singles Match
123
Ofer Hacohen / 0 [LEH]
620
71UF
#5 Singles Match
12
Jackson Morash / 0 [LEH]
33
66
#6 Singles Match
123
B. Horn-Bourque / 0 [LEH]
340
63UF
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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