Bucknell Tennis Welcomes Hofstra, Colgate to Home Courts This Week Bison Looking to Build on Last Week's Success, Take Momentum into Final Road Stretch
Josh Katten
March 30, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell men’s tennis will continue its homestand with the hopes of getting back on the winning track. The Bison (3-10, 0-1) will kick things off with a Wednesday match against Hofstra at 3 p.m. at the Varsity Tennis Courts. They will then welcome Colgate for their second Patriot League match of the season on Saturday, April 3. Play against the Raiders begins at 2 p.m.
ABOUT THE BISON
In its most recent outings, Bucknell earned its third win of the season with a 6-1 victory over Mount St. Mary’s in a mid-week match. The Bison took some of that momentum into their Patriot League opener vs. Navy on Saturday, pulling out the doubles point and a singles win. Bucknell still fell to the Mids 5-2, however.
Bucknell won more than one doubles match against Navy for the first time since at least 1953. The duos of Anton Kovic (Montreal, Quebec/Milton Academy (Mass.)) and Kelly Morque (Rye, N.Y./Rye) as well as Josh Katten (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK) and Evan Zimmer (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex) provided the wins. The second doubles team of Gregg Cohenca (Purchase, N.Y./Rye Country Day School) and Ryan Marcil (Vero Beach, Fla./St. Edward’s) nearly made it a sweep before dropping the 9-7 decision.
Katten and Zimmer first started playing together at doubles two matches ago when the Bison faced Mount St. Mary’s. Although it has not been long, it seems to be a winning tandem. Katten and Zimmer are 2-0 and the only doubles team with a winning record this spring.
The success over Navy’s doubles players brought Katten and Morque to double-digit wins for the season. Katten is now 10-8 in doubles play, while Morque is 10-11. Kovic and Cohenca are next in line to reach the distinction at 9-14 and 8-12, respectively.
Gregory Maxson (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Hotchkiss) was the lone Bison to claim a singles victory against the Midshipmen. That extends the sophomore’s winning streak to three matches having claimed points for Bucknell against Villanova, Mount St. Mary’s and Navy.
ABOUT HOFSTRA
Hofstra comes to Lewisburg with a 1-9 record overall. That lone win came in a sweep against Fordham in their first dual match of the year in September. This spring, only Josh Levinson and Tyler Allen have a win in doubles, and Johan Vila and Ben Thompson-Star have won at singles.
The 2009 season also saw a losing record for the Pride. Hofstra finished last season at 7-10-1 and did not place a player on the all-conference team.
Although the Bucknell-Hofstra series began in 1983, the teams have only met nine times. Bucknell holds the edge, 7-2, in those meetings. This will not be the first time the Bison and Pride have played this season, however, as both teams competed at the Northeast Intercollegiate in the fall. Bucknell won both singles matches with Katten defeating Levinson and Zimmer winning over Jon Disley in straight sets. Hofstra won both doubles matches against the Bison.
In the teams’ last dual match in 2009, Bucknell claimed the slim 4-3 win over Hofstra. The Bison swept the doubles and won fourth through sixth singles.
ABOUT COLGATE
Colgate is 7-5 overall and 2-1 in the Patriot League this season. The Raiders have won their last two matches, both coming in league contests vs. Lafayette (6-1) and Army (4-3). Their lone league loss came 6-1 to Navy.
The Raiders were 8-11 last season. Their 2-3 league record gave them a Patriot League first-round matchup with Lafayette. The Leopards advanced with the 4-3 win.
Colgate holds a commanding lead in the all-time series with Bucknell at 48-10. When the teams met last season, Bucknell fell 4-3. Mark Malloy (Bronxville, N.Y./Hackley School), Daniel Bednarek and Jon Brenner earned the points at singles for the Bison.
Bucknell and Colgate have faced off twice already this season. The Bison went 3-1 against the Raiders at both the Northeast Intercollegiate and the Bucknell Invitational in October.
LOOKING AHEAD Bucknell will return to the road for its next two matches, taking on Army on April 9 in West Point, N.Y., and Lafayette two days later in Easton, Pa. Those are the last matches of the season away from home, as the Bison will play its final three regular-season contests and the Patriot League Tournament on its home courts.
