The Bison Men’s Tennis squad opened their spring season this past weekend on Saturday, Jan. 25, against the St. Francis University Red Flash. The team swept their opponents, finishing 7-0. After dominating in South Williamsport, the Bison moved to University Park to challenge Penn State on Sunday, Jan. 26. The team proceeded to win two more matches but ultimately lost 2-5 against the Nittany Lions.
“Winter break was all the guys at home training on their own; we only started up with practice on the first day of classes,” Head Coach Jason Cohen said. “The guys are all very motivated to accomplish some great things this season, so they all were working hard to prepare.”
Saturday kicked off with doubles matches, in which dynamic duo Brendan McDonald ’26 and Amar Tahirovic ’26 defeated their opponents, finishing 6-0. The pair had a strong fall campaign, finishing 5-2 and winning the Patriot League ITA Championships bid in November. Will Robinson ’27 and Felix Steindl ’28 also claimed a 6-2 victory over the Red Flash; this was their first doubles win as a duo.
The Bison also competed well in their singles matches. Adam Stavrakas ’26 took a 6-2, 6-2 win in the No. 1 spot. Robinson and Tahirovic took their wins, both going 6-1, 6-1. Oscar Bain ’26 claimed his win against the Red Flash, finishing 6-1, 6-2. Steindl finished his match 6-4, 6-3 and McDonald concluded a singles win in three sets, 5-7, 6-2, 11-9.
Sunday also provided some exciting competition for the Orange and Blue as they traveled to Penn State. Tahirovic went to an exciting three sets in his singles win, going 6-1, 5-7, 6-4. This avenged his earlier loss to his previous opponent from the fall. Stavrakas also claimed victory against the Nittany Lions in three, 2-6, 7-6, 6-2.
“This weekend, Amar and Adam played some great matches and went 2-0 in singles which included wins over Penn State. It is great to show the level we are capable of to beat players from a Big Ten team,” Coach Cohen shared.
However, those two wins were not enough, and the Bison fell short 2-5 against Penn State.
“We competed well against Penn State but it was great to expose some things we need to improve before this weekend with a big match at Army on Saturday,” Coach Cohen said. The Orange and Blue will continue their spring campaign this weekend on Saturday, Feb. 1.