Bucknell University Athletics
Tahirovic Repeats as Patriot League Men’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of Year, Joined by Stavrakas on Academic All-PL Team
5/8/2026 3:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Senior Amar Tahirovic became the first Bucknell men's tennis player to repeat as Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and he and classmate Adam Stavrakas were named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team on Friday. The two standout members of Bucknell's all-time winningest senior class have now made multiple appearances on the six-man Academic All-PL squad, as Tahirovic was selected for the third straight year and Stavrakas for the second year in a row.
Before Tahirovic garnered the league's top academic honor last season, the only other Bison to wear the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year crown were Mark McGuire in 1995 and Ira Reibeisen in 2007. Tahirovic joins Evan Zimmer (2011-13) and Daniel Wright (2016-18) as three-time Academic All-PL honorees. Michael Owen (2022-23) and Stavrakas are the only other multi-year recipients.
Tahirovic will go down as one of the top performers in Bucknell and Patriot League men's tennis history, and he has done it while maintaining a 3.43 cumulative grade-point average in business analytics. Last week he also repeated as Patriot League Player of the Year, making him only the fourth player to earn multiple PL POY honors. One of those was Nick Bybel in 2015 and 2016, who is the only other Bison to earn the honor. Army's Asika Isoh was also a two-time honoree, and Navy's Alan Ton was a three-time Player of the Year.
Tahirovic is the 21st four-time All-Patriot League selection and the 14th to garner First Team honors all four years. He joins Bybel as the only Bucknell players to earn the quad, which is fitting since they now rank 1-2 on Bucknell's all-time wins list. In the last match of the season, Tahirovic posted his 113th career singles win, which is one more than Bybel's previous record of 112. Tahirovic graduates with 205 combined singles/doubles wins, which also surpassed Bybel's previous mark of 192.
Tahirovic finished the 2025-26 season with a 30-7 singles record, making him the first player in team history to have two 30-win seasons. He departs with a final mark of 113-25, good for a .819 winning percentage that ranks sixth in program history.
Tahirovic repeated as both singles and doubles champion at the Patriot League's qualifier for the ITA Conference Masters Championship, and for the second straight year he won the doubles title with McDonald. The duo then went on to reach the semifinals of the national tournament in San Diego, falling one win shy of a bid to the NCAA Championships. McDonald earned the ITA Sportsmanship Award at that tournament.
Stavrakas is an economics major with a 3.81 GPA. He was a First Team All-Patriot League selection in 2025 and was named PL Tournament MVP after helping Bucknell win its first conference title since 1991. The Athens, Greece native was slowed by injury this past spring and finished with a 14-10 singles record after going 35-3 as a junior.
Despite missing some time during both his freshman and senior seasons, Stavrakas will graduate with the fourth-most singles wins (76) and 10th-most combined wins (132) in team history. His .760 career singles winning percentage (76-24) also ranks 10th all-time.
Stavrakas will be using his final year of tennis eligibility as a graduate student at Johns Hopkins next season.
Before Tahirovic garnered the league's top academic honor last season, the only other Bison to wear the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year crown were Mark McGuire in 1995 and Ira Reibeisen in 2007. Tahirovic joins Evan Zimmer (2011-13) and Daniel Wright (2016-18) as three-time Academic All-PL honorees. Michael Owen (2022-23) and Stavrakas are the only other multi-year recipients.
Tahirovic will go down as one of the top performers in Bucknell and Patriot League men's tennis history, and he has done it while maintaining a 3.43 cumulative grade-point average in business analytics. Last week he also repeated as Patriot League Player of the Year, making him only the fourth player to earn multiple PL POY honors. One of those was Nick Bybel in 2015 and 2016, who is the only other Bison to earn the honor. Army's Asika Isoh was also a two-time honoree, and Navy's Alan Ton was a three-time Player of the Year.
Tahirovic is the 21st four-time All-Patriot League selection and the 14th to garner First Team honors all four years. He joins Bybel as the only Bucknell players to earn the quad, which is fitting since they now rank 1-2 on Bucknell's all-time wins list. In the last match of the season, Tahirovic posted his 113th career singles win, which is one more than Bybel's previous record of 112. Tahirovic graduates with 205 combined singles/doubles wins, which also surpassed Bybel's previous mark of 192.
Tahirovic finished the 2025-26 season with a 30-7 singles record, making him the first player in team history to have two 30-win seasons. He departs with a final mark of 113-25, good for a .819 winning percentage that ranks sixth in program history.
Tahirovic repeated as both singles and doubles champion at the Patriot League's qualifier for the ITA Conference Masters Championship, and for the second straight year he won the doubles title with McDonald. The duo then went on to reach the semifinals of the national tournament in San Diego, falling one win shy of a bid to the NCAA Championships. McDonald earned the ITA Sportsmanship Award at that tournament.
Stavrakas is an economics major with a 3.81 GPA. He was a First Team All-Patriot League selection in 2025 and was named PL Tournament MVP after helping Bucknell win its first conference title since 1991. The Athens, Greece native was slowed by injury this past spring and finished with a 14-10 singles record after going 35-3 as a junior.
Despite missing some time during both his freshman and senior seasons, Stavrakas will graduate with the fourth-most singles wins (76) and 10th-most combined wins (132) in team history. His .760 career singles winning percentage (76-24) also ranks 10th all-time.
Stavrakas will be using his final year of tennis eligibility as a graduate student at Johns Hopkins next season.
Players Mentioned
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