Men’s Tennis Suffers First Patriot League Loss, 4-2 to Navy

LEWISBURG, Pa. – In a battle of two teams unbeaten in Patriot League play, Navy prevailed 4-2 over Bucknell in men's tennis action on Friday at the Varsity Tennis Courts. Amar Tahirovic and Adam Stavrakas continued their outstanding seasons with straight-set wins at the top of the lineup, but Luke Garner's victory in a second-set tiebreaker at No. 3 singles clinched it for the Midshipmen.

Navy improved to 5-0 in league play (17-13 overall), while the Bison fell to 13-6, 3-1, and saw their four-match winning streak come to an end. These two teams have played several tight matches over the last two seasons, including two in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals, but the Midshipmen keep pulling them out and are now 52-0 all-time against Bucknell.

The Bison got off-track early as Navy claimed the doubles point with wins on Courts 1 and 2. Will Robinson and Liam Kilmer were 7-5 winners at No. 3 doubles for the Bison.

Straight-set wins from Jeffrey Etterbeek at No. 5 and George Cutone at No. 6 brought Navy within one point of clinching the match, but Tahirovic and Stavrakas kept the Bison alive in the top two spots. Tahirovic was a 6-4, 7-6 winner over Herrick Legaspi at No. 1, and Stavrakas downed Nathan Nguyen 6-2, 7-6 at No. 2. Stavrakas trailed 5-2 in the second set before storming back to win in a tiebreaker.

There were actually three second-set tiebreakers all going on at the same time, and Garner prevailed over Liam Kilmer after winning the first set 6-3 on Court 3. Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega and Jake Young were early in the third set when the result was clinched.

Tahirovic, who is No. 124 in the ITA men's singles rankings, improved to 27-3 on the season with his ninth straight win. It was also his 77th career singles victory, which puts him in sole possession of the No. 2 spot in Bucknell history.

Stavrakas won his 19th consecutive match dating back to his last loss on Nov. 10. He is now 30-3 on the season and joins Nick Bybel as the only 30-match winners in Bucknell history. Bybel won a record 38 in 2014-15.

The Bison will look to bounce back on Sunday when they visit Lafayette at 4 p.m. Weather permitting, that match will be played outdoors on Lafayette's campus. In the event of inclement weather, it will move to Lehigh's indoor facility.

Men’s Tennis Suffers First Patriot League Loss, 4-2 to Navy

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega

Liam Kilmer

Will Robinson

Adam Stavrakas

Amar Tahirovic