The Colgate men’s tennis team faced two Patriot League opponents, the Bucknell Bison and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, in this weekend’s action. On Saturday, the Raiders hosted Bucknell at Turning Stone Resort and struggled, losing 5-2. Lehigh also fought hard against Colgate, winning 6-1

on Sunday.

Two Raiders demonstrated their resilience against seemingly unflappable Bucknell Bison opponents. Junior Luke Gensburg and sophomore Alan Pleat kept Bucknell from sweeping the Raiders with their dominant match play.

Gensburg started out strong against Bucknell first-year Nick Bybel taking the first set 6-3. But Bybel wouldn’t relent and as he avenged the first set defeat with a dominant 6-1 victory to take the second set. Gensburg wouldn’t let Bybel steal the show in the third set and set out to defeat the first-year, ultimately winning in

decisive fashion taking the third

set 6-1.

Pleat demonstrated great resolve against a tough opponent in Bucknell junior Kyle Rosen. Pleat lost a well fought first set by a narrow margin of 7-6, but he did not allow Rosen to use that momentum from to secure a quick victory in the second set.

Pleat battled Rosen for each set point as the two fought ferociously throughout the second set. Pleat would ultimately secure a tough 6-4 victory to claim the second set and force a third set to decide the victor. The third set proved to be a thriller as both Pleat and Rosen matched each other point for point,

forcing the tiebreaker.

Pleat ultimately left the court with a thrilling 10-5 tiebreaker

victory in the third set, thereby

winning Colgate’s second matchup.

Bucknell’s other players bested the Raiders giving the Bison a team victory, despite Gensburg’s and Pleat’s strong individual performances.

Lehigh posed great challenges for the Raiders as the Mountain Hawks presented phenomenal players on all fronts. Still, the Raiders gave Lehigh a fight as no match was won without players battling for each set point.

Pleat shined once again against Lehigh senior Andrew Krentz, ultimately securing an 8-7 proset victory. Others, despite their best

efforts, struggled to leave Turning Stone Resort with a win against the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh stole the show, winning the other five singles matches and swept the

doubles matches.

Gensburg tried to damper Lehigh junior Mark Goldberg’s strong start winning the second set in dominant fashion by a 6-2 margin, but he was unable to secure a victory in the third set,

ultimately ending with a loss.

Lehigh senior Matt Savran had difficulty securing a win against Colgate freshman Nick Laub; the first set ended in a tiebreaker with 7-5 Lehigh victory. Laub also gave Savran a tough time in the second set losing by a narrow margin of 6-4.

Colgate’s next match will be 

Senior Day on Saturday at home. The Raiders will honor the many seniors on the roster and will also look to defeat the Army Black Knights, who are undefeated in

conference play thus far.

Contact Matt Washuta at

[email protected].