Lauren Boone
Senior Writer
The men’s tennis team fell to Army 4-2 on April 12, but managed to come back and sweep Lafayette 7-0 on April 14 and prevail in a 4-3 nail biter against Lehigh on April 15. The three-game home series was highlighted by Josh Katten ’13, who broke the school record for most careers wins with a singles victory over Lafayette.
Against Army, the No. 1 doubles team of Aidan Lynch ’14 and Evan Zimmer ’13 claimed the first victory of doubles play for the Bison, winning its match 8-4. To clinch the doubles point, the No. 3 team of Octavio Canibe ’15 and Kelly Morque ’13 won its match by a close score of 8-6.
Unfortunately, the Bison were not as successful in the singles play, where the Black Knights won all but one match. The lone Bison exception was Zimmer, who won in a close three-set match with a score of 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
“It was a great first annual alumni weekend for the men’s tennis program,” Katten said. “Friday night against Army was a tough loss, but it was in front of a great crowd. The match could have definitely gone either way, and as a team we are looking forward to hopefully playing Army again at the Patriot League tournament.”
Against Lafayette, Katten broke the record for most career wins with a 6-1, 6-3 singles victory. Katten now holds a 152-93 career record, topping the program record previously held by Ryan Sandburg ’09 with a record of 150-113.
Katten and Nick Bybel ’16 gathered an easy 8-0 victory at the No. 2 doubles position early in the day. The No. 1 doubles team of Lynch and Zimmer pulled out an 8-5 victory, while the No. 3 doubles team of Canibe and Morque clinched an 8-4 victory. The Bison kept the momentum going into singles play, where all players won their matches in straight sets.
“The Lafayette match was a solid team sweep, and it was a very memorable moment when my friends arrived to see me break the all-time combined wins record,” Katten said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better moment, and it was great to do it at Bucknell with friends and family around to see it.”
The Orange and Blue played their last Patriot League regular season match against Lehigh. The Bison and Lehigh were neck-and-neck when Kyle Rosen ’14 clinched a singles victory, winning the match for the Bison.
The Bison dominated in doubles play. First off the court was the No. 2 doubles team of Bybel and Katten, who handily won its match 8-0. The No. 1 doubles team of Lynch and Zimmer as well as the No. 3 doubles team Canibe and Morque both won their doubles matches with a score of 8-4. The victory for Lynch and Zimmer increased their undefeated record to 7-0, which is the longest winning streak of the season for the Orange and Blue.
Despite the ease in doubles play, the singles competition proved to be much more challenging. Bison captains Katten, Morque and Zimmer all fell to their Lehigh opponents. Bybel was able to win his match 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, while teammate Canibe stayed strong to win his three-set match at No. 6 singles.
With the overall score tied at 3-3, all eyes were on Rosen as he competed in his No. 5 singles match. Rosen lost the first set 3-6, but he was able to fight back and win the last two sets 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the overall victory for the Bison.
With this victory, the Bison end their regular season play with a 13-7 overall record, and a 3-2 record in conference play. They will compete in the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 3 seed, starting Friday in Hamilton, N.Y.