March 4, 2010

Center Valley, Pa. - The first full month of tennis action is complete for Patriot League schools, and March will feature the beginning of League play for most squads. After February featured several storms that forced the postponement or cancellation of several matches, the League's teams are hopeful March will feature warmer weather.

After a strong month at No. 1 singles and doubles, Lehigh junior Troy List captured the Patriot League's Male Tennis Player of the Month award for February. It is the second such honor of his career, as he won it the first time in February 2009, and he is the first Mountain Hawk to earn the nod twice. Bucknell's Lauren Lucido is the Patriot League's Female Tennis Player of the Month. It's the second consecutive award for a Bison, as Tania Varela won it last month.

Male Tennis Player of the Month

Troy List, Lehigh Jr., Calabasas, Calif.

List bookended the month of February with losses, but won five matches in between, all at No. 1 singles. He picked up singles victories against Boston University, St. Francis (N.Y.), Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's and Georgetown. He also went 4-2 in doubles action in the month, teaming with Collin Laffey at No. 1. The junior is now 6-3 in singles and 5-3 in doubles this spring.

Female Tennis Player of the Month

Lauren Lucido, Bucknell Jr., Woodstock, Md.

Lucido went 3-0 in February in singles action, with two victories coming at No. 1 against Duquesne and Penn and the other at No. 2 versus Pittsburgh. She teamed up with Tania Varela for a 2-1 doubles mark, all at No. 1, with wins versus Penn and Duquesne and the loss to Pittsburgh. She now sits sixth all-time for the Bison with 51 doubles victories, and is one victory shy of becoming the ninth Bison to capture 100 total wins.

Let's Stay Home
Based on the first six weeks of the season, Patriot League squads have shown a preference for playing at home. On the men's side, the League is a combined 14-12 in home matches, while only accumulating four wins in 19 road contests. The women are just under .500 at home at 13-14, while they have combined for a 3-6 mark on the road.

Patriot League Play to Begin Soon
None of the League's 14 men and women's teams have embarked on any Patriot League matches just yet, but that will be changing during the course of March. The first match between two League teams will occur Saturday, March 13 when Navy's men travel to Hamilton, N.Y. to visit Colgate. The first bout between two Patriot League women's squads will happen Wednesday, March 24, when Lehigh hosts Army.

Academies Chosen to Repeat
The Navy men and Army women were voted to successfully defend their respective 2009 Patriot League Championships. The Mids garnered 69 points and nine first-place votes to take the top spot in the men's poll. Army came in second with 60 points and four first-place tallies. Colgate sits in third in the preseason balloting with 48 points and one first-place vote, followed by Bucknell in fourth (42) and Lehigh in fifth (39). Lafayette's 22 points and Holy Cross' 14 round out the men's voting. On the women's side, Army captured 11 first-place tallies and 71 points to take first. Colgate did not receive any first-place votes but did receive 60 points for second place. Bucknell tallied 56 points and two first-place votes, while Navy received one first-place vote and 42 points. Lehigh tied with the Midshipmen for fourth with 42 points. Lafayette (21 points) and Holy Cross (20) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

Teams Eye Patriot League Championship
The spring championship season is 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 The women have the most wins of any Patriot League team, men or women, with a 7-5 record. They went 7-4 in February, picking up key victories against Fordham, Connecticut and St. John's. The Black Knights host four matches in the first weekend in March against Quinnipiac, Providence, Marist and NJIT, while having a road contest against Rutgers. The 3-5 men host matches against Monmouth and NJIT on Friday and Sunday before an 11-day break. League play opens for both at Lehigh, with the women heading to Bethlehem on March 23 and the men a day later.

Bucknell It has been a tough stretch for the Bison who, like many tennis programs in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, saw several February matches postponed or canceled because of inclement weather. The 1-5 men visit Niagar and St. Bonaventure on Friday-Saturday, then resume action March 20 at Villanova. The women, currently at 0-4, lost a close 4-3 decision to Penn on Feb. 28. They will also visit Niagara and St. Bonaventure, then visit Syracuse on Sunday.

Colgate Colgate is the only League school where both the men and women are over .500. The men (4-1) have won four straight matches after dropping the season opener at Brown. The 3-2 women have won two straight and hope to continue the success when they visit Niagara and Syracuse for their next two. The men have only one home match in March, a tilt on the 13th against Navy.

Holy Cross The Crusader men have had two matches, losing a 7-2 decision to Coast Guard and a 7-0 loss to Sacred Heart. The women also lost, 7-0, to Sacred Heart in their only action of the season thus far. The women host Albany on March 13 and Stonehill on March 23, while the men visit Quinnipiac and Springfield for their next two.

Lafayette The women will put their perfect 2-0 mark on the line Friday when they take on Fairfield in action that will take place at Yale. They have a home match against Delaware March 24 before opening League play at Army on the 26th. The men hope to improve upon their 1-3 record against Fairfield on Friday and versus La Salle on March 13.

Lehigh After starting the season with three straight losses, the men have won five of their last six matches, including strong wins over Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's and Drexel. The women have struggled to start the season with one victory in their first seven contests. Both teams are in a lull in the schedule, as the men return to action hosting Army on March 23 and the women entertain the Black Knights the next day.

Navy The Naval Academy is another institution that has had scheduling issues because of snowstorms. With March here, the Midshipmen hope warmer weather is not far behind. The 4-7 men, who recently lost to nationally-ranked North Carolina and Clemson, start the month with home matches against Maryland, UMBC and Delaware before visiting Colgate on March 13 for the League opener for both. After starting 3-0, the women have lost consecutive matches to Howard and Seton Hall. They have another month of non-League play before hosting Lehigh on April 2.