Saturday, April 15
Bethlehem, Pa.
12:00 PM
Lehigh University
4
vs
3
Bucknell
Lehigh Closes Regular Season With 4-3 Senior Day Win Over Bucknell
4/15/2023 4:57:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – In its regular season finale, the Lehigh men's tennis team picked up a 4-3 victory over Bucknell Saturday inside the Lewis Tennis Center. Lehigh won a tightly-contested doubles point and then won three of the first four singles matches, with junior Jordan Paul clinching the victory at No. 4.
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Lehigh finishes the regular season at 11-9 overall and 4-3 in Patriot League matches.
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Prior to the start of Saturday's match, Lehigh recognized its four seniors: Michael Bukhalo, Matt Kleiman, Jeremy Learner and Steven Nazaroff.
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Bucknell opened the match with a win at No. 2 doubles and Bukhalo helped even things up, teaming with sophomore Sean Jaeger for a 6-3 win at No. 3 to even doubles at 1-1. Doubles came down to the top flight where Kleiman and sophomore Marc Blekhman defeated Nick Mueller and Michael Owen 6-4 to give the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 lead.
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Three of the first four singles matches required three sets to be decided. Learner bounced back after dropping the first set to defeat Mueller 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 at No. 2. Blekhman followed with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Owen at No. 3 to extend the Lehigh lead to 3-0.
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Bucknell earned its first point as Amar Tahirovic defeated Kleiman in three sets at the top flight, but Paul battled from a set down to defeat Brendan McDonald at No. 4, winning a tight third set 7-5.
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The Bison claimed the bottom two flights to account for the final margin.
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Lehigh will now shift focus to next weekend's Patriot League Tournament in Hamilton, N.Y. The Mountain Hawks will play an opponent still to be determined in a quarterfinal on Friday.
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Lehigh 4, Bucknell 3
Doubles
1. Blekhman/Kleiman (Lehigh) def. Mueller/Owen (Bucknell) 6-4
2. Bain/Tahirovic (Bucknell) def. Learner/Nazaroff (Lehigh) 6-3
3. Bukhalo/Jaeger (Lehigh) def. Zelikovsky/McDonald (Bucknell) 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
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Singles
1. Amar Tahirovic (Bucknell) def. Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
2. Jeremy Learner (Lehigh) def. Nick Mueller (Bucknell) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
3. Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) def. Michael Owen (Bucknell) 6-4, 7-5
4. Jordan Paul (Lehigh) def. Brendan McDonald (Bucknell) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
5. Tim Zelikovsky (Bucknell) def. Jackson Morash (Lehigh) 6-4, 6-3
6. Oscar Bain (Bucknell) def. Michael Bukhalo (Lehigh)Â 7-6 (5), 7-5
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1, 4, 5, 6
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Lehigh finishes the regular season at 11-9 overall and 4-3 in Patriot League matches.
Â
Prior to the start of Saturday's match, Lehigh recognized its four seniors: Michael Bukhalo, Matt Kleiman, Jeremy Learner and Steven Nazaroff.
Â
Bucknell opened the match with a win at No. 2 doubles and Bukhalo helped even things up, teaming with sophomore Sean Jaeger for a 6-3 win at No. 3 to even doubles at 1-1. Doubles came down to the top flight where Kleiman and sophomore Marc Blekhman defeated Nick Mueller and Michael Owen 6-4 to give the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 lead.
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Three of the first four singles matches required three sets to be decided. Learner bounced back after dropping the first set to defeat Mueller 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 at No. 2. Blekhman followed with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Owen at No. 3 to extend the Lehigh lead to 3-0.
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Bucknell earned its first point as Amar Tahirovic defeated Kleiman in three sets at the top flight, but Paul battled from a set down to defeat Brendan McDonald at No. 4, winning a tight third set 7-5.
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The Bison claimed the bottom two flights to account for the final margin.
Â
Lehigh will now shift focus to next weekend's Patriot League Tournament in Hamilton, N.Y. The Mountain Hawks will play an opponent still to be determined in a quarterfinal on Friday.
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Lehigh 4, Bucknell 3
Doubles
1. Blekhman/Kleiman (Lehigh) def. Mueller/Owen (Bucknell) 6-4
2. Bain/Tahirovic (Bucknell) def. Learner/Nazaroff (Lehigh) 6-3
3. Bukhalo/Jaeger (Lehigh) def. Zelikovsky/McDonald (Bucknell) 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
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Singles
1. Amar Tahirovic (Bucknell) def. Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
2. Jeremy Learner (Lehigh) def. Nick Mueller (Bucknell) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
3. Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) def. Michael Owen (Bucknell) 6-4, 7-5
4. Jordan Paul (Lehigh) def. Brendan McDonald (Bucknell) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
5. Tim Zelikovsky (Bucknell) def. Jackson Morash (Lehigh) 6-4, 6-3
6. Oscar Bain (Bucknell) def. Michael Bukhalo (Lehigh)Â 7-6 (5), 7-5
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1, 4, 5, 6
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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