Category: Tennis

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Men’s and women’s tennis start season on a strong note

Alex Wagner
Sports Editor

Both the men’s and women’s tennis programs were successful in the opening of their season at the Bucknell Quad tournament. The Bison men won two out of three individual championships and the doubles championship, while the women had three individual runners-up and a doubles team runner-up.

Kelly Morque ’13 and Aiden Lynch ’14 won the doubles final on Sept. 8, giving the Orange and Blue their first title of the year. They defeated Brandon Gallegos and Lorenz Schwojer of Niagara University 8-6 in the final match.

On the singles side, Nick Bybel ’16 and Josh Katten ’13 emerged on top to win the A and C brackets. Bybel began his career for the Orange and Blue with a first-place finish after defeating his teammate Evan Zimmer ’13 6-4, 6-4 in the Flight A final. Katten also defeated a Bison teammate, Chris Tortora ’14, to capture Flight C.

“The preseason preparations that our coaches had for us really helped me get back in the swing of things. Normally it takes me some time to get back from taking a few weeks off from playing, but the drills and the intensity of our practices really helped me regain my form. The results from this weekend are great building blocks for the season and my college career,” Bybel said.

“For me, preseason preparations were out of the ordinary this year. Following the spring 2012 season, I underwent double knee surgery and have been on the recovery trail ever since. This first tournament gave me the opportunity to get my feet under me and to test out, as I like to say, my new knees,” Katten said.

The women’s squad showed similar promise for the upcoming season. Maria Cioffi ’16, Stephanie Pino ’16 and Claudia Silvers ’15 all put in impressive performances to reach their respective bracket finals, but none were able to pull out a victory in the final.

In finals play, newcomers Cioffi and Pino were impressive once again as they advanced to the doubles final after defeating teammates Elena Vidrascu ’14 and Lydia Colvin ’15.  Unfortunately, they came up short in the final, losing 8-1 to Megan Hahn and Olivia Ott of Loyola (Md.).

“I was extremely pleased that I was able to make it to the finals in this tournament for both singles and doubles, and I hope it sets the tone for a great season … This tournament also gave me the confidence to know that I can successfully play college tennis and contribute to the success of the tennis team. It also gave me the opportunity to identify some areas that I would like to work on so that I can continue to improve my tennis skills and perform well in the tournaments to come,” Pino said.

The next competition for the women will be on Sept. 14 at the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational. The men’s team will be back in action the same day, splitting their squad between the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational and the Princeton Invitational.

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis finishes season with win

By Chris McCree
Sports Editor

The men’s tennis team closed out its regular season with a 7-2 victory over Bloomsburg this past Wednesday, leaving the Bison with a 9-13 record heading into the Patriot League Tournament.

The Bison took two out of three doubles matches from the Huskies. Gregg Cohenca ’12 and Aidan Lynch ’14 came away with an 8-5 victory at No. 1 doubles, while Josh Katten ’13 and Evan Zimmer ’13 extended their doubles winning streak to 10 at No. 2 doubles. The Bison’s only doubles loss came at the No. 3 spot with the duo of Scott Bernstein ’14 and Kelly Morque ’13 losing 8-5.

In singles, the Orange and Blue took five of six matches, sweeping spots two through six. Katten continued his strong play in the second spot, taking down Mark Schroeder 7-5, 6-0. Octavio Canibe ’15 played in the tightest match of the day at No. 5 singles, taking down Tyler Pultro in three sets. After winning the first set 6-2, Canibe fell in the second set 6-7(1), but managed to take the tiebreaker 12-10. The Bison’s only singles loss of the day came at the No. 1 spot as Zimmer fell in three sets, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.

Currently riding a two-game winning streak, the Orange and Blue will look to carry their momentum into the Patriot League Tournament in Annapolis, Md. The Bison will take on Colgate in the first round starting today at 9 a.m. The last time the two teams met was back on April 6, when the Bison came away with a 4-3 victory at home.

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s takes one of three league contests

By Cooper Mead
Writer

The men’s tennis team took one of three contests against Patriot League rivals in a stint of away matches this week. The Bison then returned home to claim a 4-3 victory against Robert Morris.

Facing Army (13-9, 4-0 in the Patriot League) on April 12, the Bison fought a tough match but fell 5-2 to the Black Knights. Josh Katten ’13 and Evan Zimmer ’13 defeated Alex Van Velzer and Peter Sienko 9-7 playing at the No. 2 spot, improving the duo’s winning streak to six. Aidan Lynch ’14 and Gregg Cohenca ’12 also contributed to the solid doubles play at the No. 1 spot as they defeated Asika Isoh and Henry Jang-Milsten in a hard-fought match that culminated in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (7-5). The win brought the duo their third straight victory.

Despite the team’s doubles prowess, the Bison struggled in the singles arena and dropped all but one of the six possible points. Katten gave the Bison their only win, beating Alex Holland in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2.

The Bison rebounded from their tough loss to Army with a convincing 6-1 victory at Lafayette on Sunday.

The team began the match by winning all three of the doubles matchups. Scott Bernstein ’14 and Kelly Morque ’13 at the No. 3 spot won by a score of 8-4, while Katten and Zimmer also  emerged victorious at the No. 2 spot by a score of 8-2. The match marked the first time since their match against Hofstra on Feb. 18 that the Bison have swept the doubles matches. Cohenca’s victory brought his record to 68-46 in his doubles career for the Bison and brought him to third all-time. Only Ryan Sandburg ’09 (87-50) and Ira Reibeisen ’08 (69-60) hold better records.

The Bison’s singles play was also spectacular against the Leopards, taking five of six matches and four in straight sets. Cohenca won his second match of the day at the No. 1 spot against Doug Gallagher (6-3, 6-3) which marked his first singles win in eight matches. Zimmer, Katten, Morque and Gregory Maxson ’12 also won their singles matches.

“Lafayette was a great win for us,” Lynch said. “Everyone stepped up and took care of business. I was really proud of our team.”

The team finished its away stint and its final Patriot League game of the regular season on Tuesday with a tough 5-2 loss to Lehigh. The Hawks brought their record to 7-13 and 2-3 in the Patriot League.

The Bison doubles pairs remained strong as Zimmer and Katten defeated Mark Goldberg and Mitchell Petersen 8-1 at the No. 2 spot. The win gave the partners an undefeated doubles season. Morque and Bernstein also came away with a doubles win against Timur Chernykh and Andrew Krentz at the No. 3 spot by the score of 8-5 and secured the doubles team point.

The team continued to struggle with singles play. At the No. 6 spot, Maxson was the only Bison able to win his match, winning in three sets. Cohenca lost at the No. 1 spot to Goldberg by a score of 6-1, 3-6, 7-6. Zimmer also fought a tough match at the No. 2 position against Ben Gilman but lost 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.

“It was tough to lose to Lehigh. We will go into the tournament as a four seed like last year, but I think we still have a great opportunity to make a run,” Katten said. “The conference is really strong this year and while we may have lost those matches, these teams are well aware of our ability.”

Coming off of their two-win week, the Bison will play at Bloomsburg on Wednesday before traveling to Annapolis, Md. for the Patriot League tournament next weekend.

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis defeats rival Colgate

By Cooper Mead
Writer

The men’s tennis team came away with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Colgate at home on Friday, sending the team to 1-1 in the Patriot League.

The Bison doubles play continued its strong performance from last week, winning the crucial team point. Evan Zimmer ’13 and Josh Katten ’13 won a convincing match (8-4) against Luke Gensburg and Sean Spellberg at the No. 2 spot and improved their winning streak to four matches. At No. 1 doubles, Greg Cohenca ’12 and Aidan Lynch ’14 defeated Alec Goldstein and Parker Lewis in a tight 8-6 match, clinching the doubles point for the Bison.

On the singles front, the Bison were able to grind out victories in three out of six matches to ensure a team victory. Gregory Maxson ’12 won at the No. 6 singles spot against Connor Feuille, 6-1, 6-4. Katten also defeated Spellberg at the No. 4 spot, 6-2, 6-7, 6-2 and Zimmer capped off the day beating Bobby Berkowitz in a tough match with a slew of long rallies, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

“Colgate was a good win for us,” Katten said. “It was a step in the right direction leading into the core of the Patriot League season.”

Following the victory, the Bison fell to a formidable George Mason team at home 4-3 on Saturday. Again, the Bison doubles pairings were extremely effective as they clinched the team point for the Bison. Cohenca and Lynch defeated Jordan Dyke and Chris Borden 8-6 at the No. 1 doubles spot, bringing the pairing to 2-3 in No. 1 matches during the spring season. Katten and Zimmer also continued their great performance, beating Scott Keaton and Joe Wiggins, 8-5. After his win, Zimmer’s individual record for the season improved to an impressive 25-5.

Despite the doubles victory, the Bison struggled in singles. Kelly Morque ’13 took on Keaton at the No. 4 spot and won in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. Kyle Rosen ’14 recorded the only other singles win for the Bison when he defeated Taylor Sargent, 6-4, 6-3 at the No. 5 spot. Rosen’s victory brings him to 16-12 in singles play this season.

“We were obviously disappointed by the 4-3 loss to George Mason but the win versus Colgate demonstrated that we can be a dangerous team,” Morque said. “Even though we didn’t play our best, we still toughed out a win against a very determined Colgate squad. Matches like the ones we had this weekend will only make us better in the long run.”

The Bison began a three-match road trip yesterday afternoon when they faced Army after press time. They will next take on Lafayette on Sunday and Lehigh on Tuesday before returning home to face Robert Morris at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

 

 

 

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Featured Men Sports Tennis

The Dominant Duo

Alex Wagner

Assistant Sports Editor

 

The Bison’s top men’s tennis doubles team of Gregg Cohenca ’12 and Evan Zimmer ’13 is currently ranked No. 51 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. 

The two, who began playing together in the fall of 2011, quickly found that they were able to work together well, helping them climb to a position among the elite doubles teams in the nation.

“We played all the fall tournaments together and have meshed since,” Cohenca said.

A key to their success this year has been their ability to stick to the basics.

“Sticking to our fundamentals and tactics [has] brought us our success thus far. We stay positive for every single point and focus on setting up points to end in our favor. Trying to stay completely relaxed and confident out there has propelled us to beat many teams, such as Penn State,” Zimmer said.

In fact, the Feb. 11 victory over Penn State’s Jason Lee and Russell Bader, who are currently ranked No. 25 in the nation, proved early in the season that Cohenca and Zimmer deserve national recognition.

But the hard work to get to the top began for the two of them long before they started seeing themselves in the national rankings this year. Their career records are a testament to their patient approach. Cohenca is currently ranked fourth for the Bison in terms of all-time doubles victories, with a record of 64-46. Zimmer is not far behind in a tie for 12th with a 48-24 record.

In addition to their constant focus on the fundamentals, the teammates also cite their unity off the court as a strong point of their play.

“Off the court, we are good friends, which helps during those crucial moments in the match,” Zimmer said.

As the season progresses, they hope to continue the short-term thinking that has gotten them to where they are today.

“Our goal on the court this season is to play one point at a time. Once that point is over, win or loss, we move on to the next point,” Cohenca said.

There is little doubt that if Cohenca and Zimmer stick to the principles that they have been employing, they will continue to do great things this season.

 

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis falls to Hoyas 6-1 in D.C.

By Cooper Mead

Contributing Writer

The men’s tennis team (5-10) suffered a 6-1 loss against Georgetown (9-6) on Friday in Washington D.C.

Doubles pairing Josh Katten ’13 and Evan Zimmer ’13 battled against Shane Korber and Alex Tropiano and won the match 8-6. This victory pushed the pair to 2-0 this week, while Katten continued his streak during his singles match by defeating Korber at the No. 3 spot. Katten battled and pushed hard to win the match that went into three sets, two of which went to a tiebreaker (3-6, 7-6 (11-9), 10-7).

“Georgetown is a solid team,” Katten said. “We came out firing in doubles but came up just short as a team. In singles I was lucky enough to come through with the win but unfortunately our team did not fair well. Despite the loss, I think we fought hard as a team.”

The Bison singles players struggled throughout the match. Kyle Rosen ’14 in No. 5 singles was the Bison who came the closest to winning another set, but Rosen lost 7-5, 6-2. The rest of the singles field came away winless at the conclusion of the match.

This loss marks the third straight for the Bison, who had won their two prior matches.

“The Georgetown match showed us that everyone needs to step up in every spot if we are to be successful against teams like Army and Navy,” Kelly Morque ’13 said. “A week of hard work and intensity should get us to where we need to be.”

The Bison were originally scheduled to take on Mount St. Mary’s this week, but the match was cancelled due to rain. The Bison will hope to break their tough streak when they host Colgate today at 1 p.m.

 

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Featured Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis rebounds

By Cooper Mead

Contributing Writer

After losing to Penn State last week, the men’s tennis team took down Hofstra 6-1 on Saturday in Quakertown, Pa. With the win, the Orange and Blue improved their spring record to 2-1 and dropped Hofstra’s record to 0-1. The win brings the team’s all-time record to 9-2 against the Hofstra Pride.

The Bison came out strong and won all three of their doubles matches. Early on, partners Kelly Morque ’13 and Josh Katten ’13 played well and set the tone for the other two doubles pairings, who also produced strong victories. Kyle Rosen ’14 and Scott Bernstein ’14 won their match 8-4 and Gregg Cohenca ’12 and Evan Zimmer ’13 came out ahead 8-6.

In singles, Cohenca continued his exceptional play and with his doubles win, he racked up career win numbers 100 and 101, extending his exceptional play during the start of this season.

“The Hofstra match is good preparation for our matches versus Niagara and St. Bonaventure this upcoming weekend,” Morque said. “It feels great to get a win under our belts and return to winning form after facing a tough Penn State squad. Everyone is looking forward to building off of our last win.”

Katten emphasized the importance of each match to the development of the team.

“We played well against Hofstra,” Katten said. “There are still incremental changes being made and as a team we are using these matches to keep on building and improving. The season is a process in which we want to peak during the conference tournament, so all the matches preceding are just necessary steps in order to be well positioned for the Patriot League Tournament.”

The Bison will look to add to their victories and continue their upward trajectory in Olean, N.Y. when they play Niagara and St. Bonaventure this coming Saturday and Sunday.

 

 

 

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis falls to PSU

By Cooper Mead

Contributing Writer

The men’s tennis team suffered a tough 7-0 loss at Penn State last Saturday, pushing its record to 1-1 on the season. 

While the Bison did drop eight of nine matches against the Nittany Lions, the team did come away victorious in No. 1 doubles. Gregg Cohenca ’12 and Evan Zimmer ’13 defeated Jason Lee and Russell Bader 9-8, propelling Cohenca into the program’s top-10 list for career victories.

In singles, the Orange and Blue did not fare well, falling in all six of their matches and failing to win a single set. Octavio Canibe ’15  put up a valiant effort against Tomas Hanzlik, losing 6-2 in the first set and 6-0 in the second. Kelly Morque ’13 lost a hard fought match at No. 6 against C.J. Griffin, 6-1, 6-3.

Despite the crushing defeat, the Bison still feel that they gained a lot from the experience.

“It’s always fun to go out and play against a Big 10 opponent,” Josh Katten ’13 said. “Although we lost, it was promising to see some tight doubles matches and this match can only help us as it exposed some areas that we can improve upon.”

The team hopes to rebound from this defeat this Saturday against Hofstra in Quakertown, Pa.

 

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis shines

Cooper Mead ’14

Contributing Writer

The men’s tennis team dominated the Saint Francis Red Flash last Friday in Loretto, Pa., coming away with a 7-0 landslide victory in its first match of the season.

Gregg Cohenca ’12 won in No. 1 singles 6-0, 7-5. Later, Cohenca and partner Evan Zimmer ’13 teamed up to secure a 9-7 victory in the team’s first doubles match. After his two commanding victories, Cohenca leapt over former teammate Zach Hascoe ’10 on the all-time wins list and needs one more win to break into the Bison’s top-10 list. On top of his doubles victory, Zimmer easily defeated Chris Jimenez in fourth singles 6-0, 6-3.

“It was a promising first match and as usual we are still working out the kinks that come with the start of a new season,”  Josh Katten ’13 said. “As a team we have been working hard on and off the court and we can only get better as the season progresses.”

Playing in the No. 5 spot for the Orange and Blue, Katten claimed a hard-earned victory over Lawson Barter, sweeping his Red Flash opponent 6-0 in the first set and winning a tiebreak in the second (5-7, 10-8).

In doubles, the second-year duo of Kyle Rosen ’14 and Scott Bernstein ’14 teamed up to defeat Barter and Juan Andres Pardo of Saint Francis 9-7.

“We’ve put in a lot of great effort thus far in the spring. This team is looking great and will continue to improve,” Aidan Lynch ’14 said.

The Bison will continue to make progress as they prepare for a formidable Penn State team on Feb. 11 and hope to secure their second victory of the spring season.