Over the weekend, the Bucknell men’s tennis team faced off against Delaware at the Central PA Tennis Center. Unfortunately for the Bison, they were unable to claim the win, falling short 6-1. 

At No. 2 singles, Amar Tahirovic ’26 claimed the only point for the Bison. Tahirovic won his sets 7-5 and 6-3 over Luis Molina of Delaware, in a rematch against the Blue Hen, as he competed against him back in October as well. 

“Being in season with the team definitely brings a lot out of us,” Tahirovic said. “As a team, we’ve been building how we perform on and off the court day in and day out. There were some nerves playing my first college home match but as the match progressed, I really felt supported by the team which helped push me through and get my first spring season win ever. I was happy with how I battled every point and how the team pushed each other and myself through the down moments. Starting with a singles win on home court really gave me some extra motivation for what is to come!”

The other singles players battled hard, but were unable to secure the victory. At No. 1 singles, it was a fight between two all-conference players. However, Delaware’s Hames Wilkinson held off Bucknell’s Harrison Gold ’24 in sets 6-4, 3-6, and 6-3. 

Additionally, Bucknell’s No. 5 and No. 6 singles players Oscar Moreno de Vega ’26 and Brendan McDonald ’26, both claimed a win for their opening set, but Delaware came back to clutch those matches. 

Later in the match, Gold and McDonald posted a win at No. 1 doubles, with a score of 6-3 for Bucknell. While this win was important for the team, the Bison fell short in the other two doubles matches, 7-5 and 6-1. Due to the final doubles score being 2-1 favoring Delaware, the overall one point for doubles was added to Delaware’s score. 

“Even though we have had three tough matches to start the season, we really showed what we are capable off and on the court. I have a really good feeling of where our season could go and what we could achieve!”

Although the match did not fall in Bucknell’s favor, stay tuned for Feb. 4 when the Bison take the court against Villanova in Hershey, Pa.