Feb. 4, 2010

Center Valley, Pa. – The spring leg of the 2009-2010 tennis season is underway, with four Patriot League schools beginning the championship portions of their slate over the last several weeks. Army, Navy, Lehigh and Bucknell have participated in dual meets, while Colgate, Holy Cross and Lafayette begin competing later this month.

Based on a strong performance in which he defeated two regionally ranked players, Army freshman Gary Kushnirovich has been named the Patriot League Male Tennis Player of the Month for January. Bucknell senior Tania Varela wins the League’s Female Tennis Player of the Month nod thanks to her Flight A Singles Championship at the Cornell Invitational.

Patriot League Monthly Tennis Release - 2.4.10

Male Tennis Player of the Month

Gary Kushnirovich, Army Fr., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Kushnirovich finished 5-0 in singles action for the month, picking up impressive victories over a pair of regionally ranked opponents. In Army’s 5-2 loss to Binghamton, Kushnirovich picked up one of the Black Knights’ points by defeating Sven Vloedgraven, ranked No. 1 in the ITA’s Northeast Rankings, in straight sets. He also defeated Dartmouth’s Dan Freeman, ranked 14th in those same rankings.

Female Tennis Player of the Month

Tania Varela, Bucknell Sr., Quito, Ecuador

Varela bested the field and won the Flight A Championship at the Cornell Invitational on Jan. 29-31, defeating four opponents to win the title while only dropping two sets along the way. She ran her singles record to 12-5 this season, which also gives her the team lead in wins on the year. Her career record now sits at 56-24 in singles, and she has a career .677 winning percentage in both singles and doubles.

Patriot League Notebook

Navy Jumps Right In
The Navy women’s tennis program was elevated to varsity status last season, and the 2009-2010 campaign marks the first in which the Mids are playing a full schedule as a member of the Patriot League. After a fall season of tournaments, Navy embarked on its inaugural League season with a 7-0 victory over St. Francis (Pa.) in Annapolis on Jan. 30. The Mids play nine of their next 10 dual matches at home.

Black Knights Enjoy Hosting
Both Army squads are enjoying some home cooking to open the spring championship portion of their schedules. Head coach Jim Poling’s men’s team has already hosted the Army Invitational along with three dual meets, starting the season with victory over Fairfield before back-to-back losses to Dartmouth and Binghamton. The men don’t venture away from West Point until Feb. 27 when they visit Lehigh. The women have a similarly homely schedule. Though the Black Knights opened their season at Dartmouth on Jan. 31, they will host 20 of their next 22 opponents.

Teams Eye Patriot League Championship
The spring championship season is just underway, and in the next few weeks every League school will begin their respective marches to the Patriot League Championships in April. The women’s tournament will take place first, on Fri.-Sun., April 16-18, hosted by Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y. The men will do battle the following weekend, Fri.-Sun., April 23-25, in Lewisburg, Pa. at Bucknell. Last season, Navy won the men’s Patriot League title to advance to the NCAA Tournament, while Army took the women’s League championship to earn the automatic bid.

Team Notebooks

Army After hosting the Army Invitational, the men have started the season 1-2. Freshman Gary Kushnirovich started the spring 5-0 in singles and 8-2 overall, all at No. 1 singles or doubles. Two of his singles wins came over opponents ranked in the ITA’s Regional Top 15. The women opened with a loss at Dartmouth, but play 20 of their 22 matches at home.

Bucknell Senior Tania Varela won four matches and dropped only two sets in capturing the Flight A Championship at the Cornell Invitational on Jan. 29-31. She is 12-5 in singles this year and now has a .677 career winning percentage in both singles and doubles action. The men are 0-2 with losses at Penn and St. John’s. Only one of their next nine contests is in Lewisburg.

Colgate The Raiders have yet to see any spring action, but both teams will be underway shortly. The men open the season Feb. 6 at Brown, while the women make their spring debut Feb. 9 at rival Cornell.

Holy Cross The Crusaders open their spring schedule in the coming weeks. The men will hit the court on Feb. 13 at Coast Guard in New Britain, Conn. The women also open on the road, one week later at Sacred Heart on Feb. 20.

Lafayette After a 2-0 fall season, the men open Feb. 6 at Boston College, while the women host St. Joseph’s on Feb. 20 in their first action of the spring.

Lehigh The men’s team has opened the spring 0-2, dropping matches at Penn State and home to Fairleigh Dickinson. They’ll take a trip through New England Feb. 5-6 with matches at Brown and Boston University. The women have also started the spring 0-2, but they play their next six matches at home.

Navy The men are 2-2 this spring as the Mids prepare to defend their Patriot League Championship. After a match Feb. 5 at Maryland, the men have their next five at home. The 1-0 women look to pick up more wins in Annapolis. Ten of their next 11 are at home.