Category: Tennis

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Sports Tennis Women

W. tennis splits weekend

Lauren Boone

Staff Writer

The women’s tennis team travelled to Olean, N.Y. to face Niagara and St. Bonaventure this past weekend. After dropping the match against Niagara 4-3, the Orange and Blue pulled out a 5-2 win over St. Bonaventure, snapping a three-match losing streak.

Against St. Bonaventure, the Bison won the doubles point with ease. On the number one doubles court, Maria Cioffi ’16 and Elena Vidrascu ’14 dropped only one game to the Bonnies, winning 8-1. Lydia Colvin ’15 and Stephanie Pino ’16, on the second doubles court, won  8-4. St. Bonaventure defaulted the third doubles court.

The Orange and Blue were successful in their singles matches as well. St. Bonaventure defaulted another match, giving the Bison another victory in the sixth singles position.

At the number three singles position, Colvin won her match with a score of 6-3, 6-2. Jen Bush ’15 was also successful, winning her match 6-1, 6-1. On court five, Pino claimed the final point for the Bison without dropping a single game (6-0, 6-0).

“Overall, the team came out with great energy and focus. We secured the doubles point, winning both first and second doubles with relative ease. As far as singles goes, it was easy to see that we all really wanted to win, supporting one another immensely in the process,” Colvin said.

Against Niagara, Cioffi and Vidrascu gave the Bison a good start in the first doubles match with an 8-5 decision, while Bush and Christie Schneider ’15 also won their doubles match 8-3. Vidrascu and Pino also contributed individual victories, but the Bison were unable to overcome a late Niagara comeback in the loss.

The Orange and Blue will be back on the courts tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Quakertown, Pa. against Hofstra.

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis suffers first losses of season to Pittsburgh and Duquesne

Katherine Harris

Senior Writer

The women’s tennis team had a tough weekend on the road, battling against Pittsburgh on Feb. 8 to an eventual 6-1 loss, followed by another tough 6-1 defeat to Duquesne the next day.

The Bison picked up their first loss of the season when they traveled to the Alpha Tennis and Fitness Club to compete against a tough Pittsburgh squad. Maria Cioffi ’16 led the Bison on the day, defeating her No. 2 singles opponent 6-3, 6-2. Cioffi also boosted the Bison’s score with a doubles victory, partnering with Elena Vidrascu ’14 to score an 8-3 victory in the No. 1 match. Unfortunately, these were the only highlights of the day for the Bison, who ultimately fell in a 6-1 loss.

The Orange and Blue also had trouble against Duquesne. Lydia Colvin ’15 notched the only victory for the Bison on the day, defeating her opponent in the No. 3 singles match 6-7, 6-4, 10-7 at the end of the day. Once again, the Bison were not able to build on the victory, ending with a 6-1 score for the match.

“In my opinion, the scores didn’t reflect the quality of the matches and the fight that each one of us was willing to give,” Colvin said. “We definitely made a conscious effort to support each other immensely on the court, cheering for others even when we were down. [We] need to continue to work hard in practice to reflect that effort in future matches. We’re excited for this weekend of new opportunity.”

The Bison will now prepare for their next matches this weekend, facing Niagara and St. Bonaventure in New York.

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis starts off season with a 5-2 victory

Katherine Harris

Senior Writer

The women’s tennis team started off its spring season with a decisive 5-2 victory against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Feb. 2.

“I think our team came out with a great deal of energy for our first match of the season. We all remained positive throughout our matches and I think that brought us to victory,” Lydia Colvin ’15 said.

Maria Cioffi ’16 and Colvin led the Bison as they competed at the West Branch Tennis Club, with Cioffi winning the No. 2 singles match 6-4, 6-1, and Colvin ousting her opponent in the No. 3 match 6-0, 6-2. Jen Bush ’15 and Christie Schneider ’15 also won the No. 5 and No. 6 matches, respectively, to round out the field for the Orange and Blue.

“[Head coach Rebecca] Helt has been saying a lot lately that ‘practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.’ I think if we stay in that mindset and push ourselves to stay dedicated and focused in training, then we’re in for a very successful and rewarding season,” Bush said.

Cioffi and Colvin also performed strongly in the doubles portion of the match, as both of them earned another victory on the day with their 8-3 win in the No. 2 match. Bush also got her second win on the day, as her and Stephanie Pino ’16 won their No. 3 doubles match 8-4.

“The more matches we get under our belts, the more confident our players will feel. Confidence leads to better execution. I think we have good talent, we just need to see who gains the confidence to compete in the big matches,” Helt said.

The Bison will travel to Pittsburgh this weekend to compete in matches against both Pittsburgh and Duquesne.

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Men Sports Tennis Tennis Women

Tennis duos shine

 

Chloe Chou | The Bucknellian
Maria Cioffi ’16 extends to reach the ball. She had a strong weekend for the Bison individually and in her double play with Elenca Vidrascu ’14

Alex Wagner

Sports Editor

Men’s tennis teammates Chris Tortora ’14 and Jonathan DeFrancesch ’15 and women’s tennis teammates Maria Cioffi ’16 and Elena Vidrascu ’14 saw success in doubles and singles play in the Lehigh Invitational last weekend.

Tortora and DeFrancesch together accounted for seven of the team’s 15 wins over the weekend after each went 2-0 in singles play as well as combining for a 3-0 doubles record, including a highly-contested 9-7 win over Lehigh.

“This was the second tournament that Johnny [DeFrancesch] and I have played together in, and we keep making strides in improvement,” Tortora said. “Johnny is an energetic player and that really helped me get my blood flowing. We beat our opponents more so because of our high levels of intensity than anything else.”

Evan Zimmer ’13 also had a good weekend as his 1-1 singles record and 2-1 doubles record with partner Josh Katten ’13 moved him up three spots to fourth place on the Bison’s all-time win list. He is now 119-63 in his career with the Orange and Blue.

“This weekend went very well for not only me, but the team as a whole,” Tortora said.  “We got to match up our lineup versus some quality opponents and we fared very well. I was able to be effective with my serve and I stayed mentally tough throughout all of my matches.”

On the women’s side, Cioffi and Vidrascu had similar success as a duo and as singles. They went 2-1 in doubles after two tight 9-8 wins against Lehigh opponents. They are now 10-3 together on the season. Cioffi also went 2-0 in singles with defeats of Delaware and Lehigh.

Although Vidrascu was unable to get a win in singles, her doubles success moved her up to a tie for 18th place on the Bison’s career wins list, as her record is now 38-35.

Jen Bush ’15, Christie Schneider ’15 and Stephanie Pino ’16 were also able to contribute to the Orange and Blue’s success as they each earned a singles victory against Lehigh.

The men’s team will be back in action from Oct. 18-22 as Zimmer, Katten and Kelly Morque ’13 head to Charlottesville, Va. for the ITA Regional Championships. The women’s team will not be competing until the start of dual play on Feb. 2.

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis picks up more wins

Andrew Arnao
Senior Writer

The Bison women’s tennis team participated in both the St. Joseph’s Invitational and the Bloomsburg Fall Classic last weekend. The Orange and the Blue picked up 12 wins at St. Joe’s and 10 wins at Bloomsburg.

“The other schools there presented us with some pretty tough competition, and we all were able to rise up to the challenge,” Jen Bush ’15 said. “As a team, we’ve been working hard to add more variety to our game in matches, and I think our efforts paid off in the tournament this weekend.”

Doubles partners Maria Cioffi ’16 and Elena Vidrascu ’14 advanced to the semifinals after victories over St. Joseph’s and Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, they were unable to beat Carmen Lai and Dorothy Safron of Delaware in the semifinal. In the singles matches, Cioffi and Bush also advanced to the semifinals, but fell to Aurora Davis of St. Joseph’s (6-7, 6-2, 10-2) and Camila Diaz of Saint Francis (6-3, 6-4), respectively.

“The St. Joseph’s Invitational was a great experience for the six players that went because there were so many more schools that participated than usual, and strong teams,” Vidrascu said. “Although as individual players we didn’t get any titles, it was definitely something we all needed in order to see the different levels of competition that we will be facing in the spring.”

At Bloomsburg, Christie Schneider ’15, Sam Madnick ’16 and Claudia Silvers ’15 won in the first round of singles. Silvers also posted a win in the second round. The doubles combination of Schneider and Elizabeth Morgan ’14 also won their first round match against Bloomsburg but fell 8-0 in their second match. Madnick and Kristen Bishof ’15 were the only Bison able to pick up wins on Sunday.

The next scheduled event for the Bison will be the Lehigh Invitational on Oct. 12-14.

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Tennis Women

Women’s tennis solid at home

 

Chloe Chou | The Bucknellian
Maria Cioffi ’16 and Elena Vidrascu ’14 show their strong team dynamic. They have been a strong doubles team in every competition this season.

Ajan Caneda
Copy Editor

At the Bucknell Invitational last weekend, the women’s tennis team had a solid tournament, taking home the singles crown, the first tournament title of the season for Elena Vidrascu ’14, while Jen Bush ’15 and Stephanie Pino ’16 were runners-up in the doubles final. Colgate, Mount St. Mary’s, Villanova and Bloomsburg joined the Orange and Blue in the three-day tournament.

“This was with no doubt the best tournament weekend I’ve had since coming to Bucknell. I played my usual game this weekend, but the key to my success was that I played the sort of game that my opponents don’t like,” Vidrascu said.

On the first day of action, five Bison players won their first round singles matches, including Lydia Colvin ’15 who defeated Aida Diop from Bloomsburg, 6-1, 6-1, and Maria Cioffi ’16 who won, 6-2, 6-2, against Bloomsburg’s Michelle Perez. Vidrascu, Bush and Pino also picked up first-round victories.

In doubles action, Colvin and Alyssa McAndrew ’15 lost a hard-fought match against Tori Smyth and Allison Kruse from Villanova (8-6), while Bush and Pino dominated Colgate’s Alex Petrini and Jennifer Ho 8-1. The Orange and Blue also picked up consolation victories as Christie Schneider ’15 and Elizabeth Morgan ’14 defeated Bison teammates Claudia Silvers ’15 and Sam Madnick ’16 8-4, while Cioffi and Vidrascu beat a Bloomsburg pair 8-3.

The Orange and Blue continued their success on the second day of the tournament, as Vidrascu and Cioffi moved on to the singles semifinals. Vidrascu was successful in her semi-final match, defeating Mikelle Mancini of Villanova 6-3, 6-2. Unfortunately, Cioffi lost to Villanova’s Tori Smyth 6-2, 6-0.

Bush and Pino advanced to the doubles final with a win over Mount St. Mary’s Carly Landini and Liz Rossi (8-4).

“This was only the second time Jen [Bush] and I have played doubles together and I feel that with each match we are playing better as a doubles team. Our style of play suits each other and we work well together on the court,” Pino said.

On the final day of the tournament, the Orange and Blue appeared in both finals and consolation matches. After dropping the first set 6-1, Vidrascu bounced back to win the second set 6-4 and the eventual tiebreaker 10-8, as she secured the singles title. She and Cioffi also picked up a doubles win against teammates Morgan and Schneider.

“In my final match of the tournament, I lost the first set 6-1 pretty quickly. I remembered how I played against the previous two girls in the tournament and started to do the exact same thing, and it worked,” Visdrascu said. “This win has boosted my confidence tremendously, because I have finally realized the game that I need to play against all types of players.”

The Bison look to continue their strong play as they travel to Philadelphia for the Saint Joseph’s Invitational this weekend.

“Going into the St. Joe’s tournament this coming weekend I will focus on playing well, going for my shots and working on strategy and play,” Pino said.

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis strong at Mount St. Mary’s

 

Elizabeth Morgan | The Bucknellian
The team poses together at the Invitational. Together, they put on an impressive performance that saw numerous Bison finish in top spots.

Alex Wagner

Sports Editor

Maria Cioffi ’16 continued her successful campaign last weekend, coming out on top of the singles and doubles brackets while competing with the women’s tennis team at the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational in Emmitsburg, Md.

To get to the finals of the Flight A singles bracket, Cioffi fought hard to defeat Loyola’s Megan Hahn 6-2, 3-6, 10-6 on a super tiebreak in the semifinals. In the final game, she defeated Elena Vidrascu ’14, who is also her doubles partner, 6-3, 6-2.

In the doubles field, Cioffi and Vidrascu won against Megan Hahn and Olivia Ott of Loyola in the semifinals. In the finals, they defeated their teammates Lydia Colvin ’15 and Alyssa McAndrew ’15 in the final, 8-6.

The weekend’s action marked the second time in two tournaments that Cioffi has reached the finals in both singles and doubles play, marking a great start to her collegiate career. Vidrascu also added on the accolades to her career for the Orange and Blue, improving her career doubles record to 31-32, which ranks her 22nd in all-time for the Bison, a standing she also has for career combined wins.

“As for the team, I think everyone did excellent this weekend and it was a huge improvement from our home tournament last weekend. Everyone played smartly from what I could see, and there are definitely some things to be worked on but it’s only going to get better and better from here,” Vidrascu said.

In addition to placing the two teams of Cioffi/Vidrascu and Colvin/McAndrew, the Bison also placed a third team in the finals when Ellie Fraser ’16 and Kristen Bishof ’15 reached the Flight B doubles bracket finals. Unfortunately, they were unable to win against Carly Landini and Liz Rossi of Mount St. Mary’s in that match.

The Bison will be back in action when they host the Bucknell Invitational on Sept. 21-23.

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Men Sports Tennis Tennis Women

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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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis falls in semifinals

By Lindsay Regruto

Senior Writer

The women’s tennis team defeated Lehigh in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament last weekend before falling in the semifinals to Navy. The Bison followed its semifinal loss with a 6-3 win over Bloomsburg. 

“It was a challenging season in terms of injuries and such. We have a very young, talented squad,” head coach Rebecca Helt said. “Everyone worked hard to improve their fitness, their level of play on court and their mental toughness.”

Against Lehigh, the Bison were able to pull off an outstanding 4-0 win on Friday to advance to the semifinals. Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 and Elizabeth Morgan ’14 took a decisive 8-4 win at the No. 3 doubles position, while Elena Vidrascu ’14 and Daria Tuzhikova ’13 followed with an 8-6 win at the No. 1 position. Lydia Colvin ’15 and Courtney Casey ’12 were tied 6-6 when the doubles point was given to the Bison.

“Despite the score, the match against Lehigh was not easy, and therefore, it was a well-deserved win,” Iepuras said. “Even though I did not get to finish my match, I was proud of my teammates who helped us move forward into the semifinals.”

In singles play, both Colvin and Casey played strong matches, claiming a pair of wins at the No. 3 and No. 5 spots respectively. Tuzhikova defeated her opponent 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 4 singles spot to seal the win for the Bison. Iepuras, Vidrascu and Christie Schneider ’15 were all still playing when the Orange and Blue claimed the victory.

The following day, Casey and Colvin battled it out at the No. 2 doubles spot, earning an 8-6 win, while Vidrascu and Tuzhikova lost a close back-and-forth match at the No. 1 spot 9-7. The Bison tried to battle back in the singles matches but couldn’t overcome Navy’s momentum. The Mids knocked out the Orange and Blue 4-0 to advance to the finals.

“During the most challenging times of our season, these women pushed each other yet supported each other. It’s about the entire process, the work, the sacrifice, the communication, the effort and the personal growth that each athlete experiences that really represents a team,” Helt said. “I’m proud of each and every student-athlete on this team and I hope they feel that same sense of pride.”

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis earns pair of conference wins

Women’s Tennis v. Lehigh (Fri 3 p.m. HOME), @ Army (Sat 3 p.m.), @ Lafayette (Sun 10:30 a.m.) v. Robert Morris (Wednesday 3 p.m. HOME)

By Lindsay Regruto
Senior Writer

The women’s tennis team picked up two wins out of three straight Patriot League matches this week against Lafayette, Army and Lehigh as well as a 6-1 win against Robert Morris.

The Bison started off the day on Wednesday, April 18 with two wins against Robert Morris in doubles. Courtney Casey ’12 and Lydia Colvin ’15 picked up an 8-2 at the No. 2 spot while Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 and Elizabeth Morgan ’14 followed with a large 8-3 win in the No. 3 spot.

Iepuras went on to battle it out at No. 1 singles winning her match 10-6 in the third set. Daria Tuzhikova ’13 and Casey won in straight sets at the No. 2 and 3 positions, respectively. Lauren Boone ’15 bounced back from a second set loss to take the third set 10-4 winning at the No. 5 position. Morgan followed with a straight set win at the No. 6 spot to give the Orange and Blue a 6-1 win over Robert Morris.

Bouncing back from a tough loss against Army, the Orange and Blue had its largest win of the season defeating Lafayette 7-0 on April 15. Tuzhikova and Elena Vidrascu ’14 won 8-2 at the No.1 doubles spot while Casey and Colvin picked up an 8-4 win at the No.2 spot to pick up the doubles point for the Bison.

“It was good to see everyone play solid and pick up an important win,” head coach Rebecca Helt said. “Right now we’re just focused on getting and keeping everyone healthy for the weekend so we can end our season on a strong note.”

With a 1-0 lead, the Bison went on to sweep all six singles positions. Vidrascu, Colvin, Tuzhikova, Casey and Christie Schneider ’15 won in straight sets while Iepuras came back from a first set loss for the win over the Leopards.

Army proved to be a tougher opponent for the Bison who fell to the Black Knights 7-0 on April 14. Tuzhikova and Vidrascu pulled out a close 8-6 win at No.1 doubles. Army defeated the Bison in the other two doubles positions to take the doubles point. The Black Knights went on to defeat the Bison in all six singles positions despite close matches at No.1 singles by Iepuras and No. 4 singles by Tuzhikova.

The Orange and Blue earned their first Patriot League win of the season defeating Lehigh 5-2 on April 13. The Bison swept all three doubles positions in close matches to earn the doubles point. Starting off the day on a stong note, the Bison went on to earn wins in four out of the six singles positions. 

The Orange and Blue will take on Lehigh on April 20 at 10 a.m.