Last weekend, Bison Men’s Tennis faced off against Loyola, Fordham and Marist. Fortunately for Bucknell, they won all three matches.

First, the team made their 2023 Patriot League debut in a 6-1 victory over Loyola. For the Bison, this was their seventh straight win, and is tied with the team’s longest winning streak since their 2001-2002 season. 

The Bison dominated in the doubles matches, sweeping all three 6-2, 6-4 and 7-6. The doubles teams have played a huge role in Bucknell’s recent triumphs, as they have taken the doubles point eight matches in a row. 

Regarding the singles matches, the Bison won five out of six. Single player No. 1, Amar Tahirovic ’26 defeated his opponent 7-5, 6-1, No. 2 Nick Mueller ’23 won 6-2, 6-1, No. 3 Michael Owen ’23 prevailed 6-2, 6-2, No. 4 Tim Zelikovsky ’24 won 6-2, 6-3 and No. 5 Brendan McDonald ’26 triumphed 6-1, 7-6. 

Next, the Bison hosted Fordham and defeated them 5-2 for the Bison’s eighth straight win. This eight game winning streak is the longest since 1998, when the Bison began the year with 15 straight wins on the way to a 19-2 season. 

For the ninth straight match, Bucknell’s doubles teams clinched the doubles point for the match with scores of 6-1, 6-4 and 6-4. Bucknell used the same doubles lineup as the match against Loyola on Friday. 

Adding to their overall score, the Bison won the middle four singles flights, with Mueller setting the tone with a 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 2. 

McDonald and Zelikovsky both defeated their opponents in straight sets. Zelikovsky’s win at No. 4 singles clinched the final point for the match. 

Additionally, Owen came back at No. 3 after losing a first-set tiebreaker. 

Although No. 1 singles player Harrison Gold ’24 did not come up with the win, he had a hard fought three set match. He fell to his opponent in both the second and third set tiebreakers.  

In their final match on the weekend, the Orange and Blue successfully won against Marist 6-1. This win extended the teams streak to nine victorious matches in a row.

Once again, for the 10th straight opponent, the doubles teams clinched the point for the match with wins 6-4 and 6-1. 

The singles players in flights 1-5 also brought in five huge points for the team. No. 1 singles Tahirovic won 6-3, 6-2, No. 2 Gold defeated his opponent 6-2, 6-0, No. 3 Mueller was successful 6-3, 6-2, No. 4 Owen scored 6-4, 6-2 and No.5 Zelikovsky triumphed 7-5, 6-3.

The only point won by Marist was in a hard fought No. 6 singles spot, where McDonald was defeated after three sets. McDonald won his first set 6-4, but unfortunately fell in the last two 6-2 and 10-5. 

“There was great discipline and resiliency across the board from everyone,” Tahirovic said. “We fought hard all weekend and the results showed. Keeping the win streak alive after this weekend definitely felt good. Big ups to Brendan for winning all three doubles matches this weekend again and improving his doubles record to an unreal 20-3.”

As a result of their successful weekend, Bucknell now has a record of 9-4 and will travel to California to face UC Santa Cruz on March 13.