Men’s Tennis continued its conference-winning streak from the spring as it competed in Bethlehem, Pa., last weekend at the ITA Conference Masters Qualifier. The Bison repeated their results from the tournament a year ago, where they remained undefeated against all other teams and only lost to another teammate.
Amar Tahirovic ’26 and Brendan McDonald ’26 won the doubles division; the pair has now qualified for the ITA Masters Tournament in San Diego. Tahirovic also qualified individually in the singles division and will compete in San Diego in both singles and doubles.
The Bison quickly established themselves on the first day of competition. Tahirovic, the returning champion and No. 1 seed, swept his Colgate opponent in two sets, 6-1, 6-1. Adam Stavrakas ’26, the No. 3 seed, defeated his Holy Cross competitor 6-2, 6-4. For the doubles session, Tahirovic and McDonald held their reputation as returning champions and No.1 seeds to easily win over a pair from Loyola, 8-3.
The second day proved just as fruitful as the first. Tahirovic quickly defeated his two opponents on Saturday. He swept his Navy opponent 6-1, 6-1 and took a win against the fourth-seed from Boston, 6-1, 6-2. Stavrakas beat Army 6-4, 6-1 in his quarterfinal match. His next match against Navy proved a bit tougher, going 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3. Tahirovic and McDonald came together against Lehigh to win 8-4 in the semifinals. These victories put Stavrakas and Tahirovic to face each other in the finals, just like the previous year.
The results on Sunday left Tahirovic and McDonald on top. The two started the day with their final match of doubles against Boston, where they found success with an 8-5 victory. This win qualifies them for the ITA Masters Tournament as a pair for the second year in a row. Later in the day, Tahirovic and Stavrakas faced off in the finals for a repeat of all-Bison in the final singles match. The two fought hard, going into three sets. Finally, Tahirovic bested his teammate 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. This second set was his only dropped set in the entire tournament. This victory secured Tahirovic his third appearance at an ITA tournament. His performance from the weekend won him Bison of the Week honors.
Tahirovic and McDonald will represent the Bison in San Diego, Nov. 6-9.
