Nick Bybel ’16 stole the show for the men’s tennis team this past weekend during the Saint Joseph’s Invitational, contributing to the team’s overall strong performance by being part of two of three Bison victories in the tourney.

“The team had great success this weekend. Everyone went out and competed and we had someone representing Bucknell in the semis of each draw,” Bybel said.

The Orange and Blue traveled to the tournament on Sept. 19 eager to compete against some of the stiff competition provided by the participating teams. The Bison put out an impressive performance on their first day, winning eight of the nine matches they played in. Bybel, Bryan Adams ’17, Ben Gerber ’18, Timber Erskine ’18, and William Szamosszegi ’18 all recorded individual victories on the day, setting themselves up for the opportunity to continue competing as the tournament progressed.

The Bison also displayed a strong performance in the doubles bracket, with Bybel and Maxwell Kane ’18 beating a pair from La Salle 8-1 in their first match. Adams and Dan Wright ’18 also won in Flight 1 doubles, while Gerber and Octavio Canibe ’15 got the victory in a 9-8 match against a pair from Lafayette.

Bybel continued his domination on day two of the tournament, winning matches against opponents from Saint Joseph’s and Fairfield to continue on in singles competition. Wright, Adams, and Szamosszegi also recorded the victories necessary to move on to the semifinals. In doubles, Bybel and Kane won in the Flight 1 quarterfinals, while Canibe and Gerber moved on to the semifinals in Flight 2.

“Overall the team did a great job this weekend [and was] very successful in doubles, which was actually a little bit of a weakness last year for the team, so it’s nice to see quick improvement there already,” Gerber said.

On the last day, both doubles pairs for the Bison that advanced to the semifinals took home tournament victories for the team. Canibe and Gerber defeated a pair from Army 8-6 in the finals to clinch Flight 2, while Bybel and Kane won the Flight 1 title over a pair from Saint Joseph’s. Bybel also took home the Flight 1 Singles title, defeating a Drexel opponent 6-3, 6-2 to earn the only singles title for the Orange and Blue on the day.

“As a team we need to focus on our conditioning and getting stronger as the weeks progress. We’ve had a great start to our fall season, and I can’t wait for what the rest of the year has in store for us,” Bybel said.

The Bison will play their next tournament at home this weekend, competing in the Bucknell Tournament from Sept. 26-28.