March 26, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's tennis team is prepared for a packed four days, starting with a match against UMBC at home, Saturday, March 29, at 12 p.m. The Bison will then travel to Villanova on Monday, March 31, to make up this past week's postponed match. On Tuesday, April 1, Bucknell will begin Patriot League play, with a home match against Lehigh at 3 p.m.

Earlier this week, Bucknell picked up a 7-0 win against Mount St. Mary's in its first home match this spring. The Bison moved to 5-5 on the season and continued a winning streak that has brought four straight wins, against Mount St. Mary's, Rhode Island, Northwestern (Minn.) and Winston-Salem State.

Bucknell Women's Tennis Notebook

Against Mount St. Mary's, March 25 -
- Bucknell picked up a 7-0 win against Mount St. Mary's to win its fourth consecutive match, moving to 5-5 on the season.
- After the match against Mount St. Mary's, freshman Lauren Lucido (Woodstock, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) continues to lead the Bison with five doubles wins this season, while sophomore Tania Varela (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy) follows with four. In singles, Lucido and freshman Lauren Rottkamp (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor) lead the way with six wins each, while sophomore Carlin Calcaterra (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) follows with five.
- Junior Paulina Gamboa (Mexico City, Mexico/Greengates School) maintains her spot as No. 9 on Bucknell's all-time list for combined victories, now with 83 wins. She also remains No. 9 for all-time doubles victories with 42, while senior Caitlin Baffa (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills High School East) moves into the No. 13 position after picking up her 34th doubles win against Mount St. Mary's.

Last Time Against UMBC -
- The Bison fell to UMBC, 6-1, on April 22, 2007.
- In a series that began in 1990, Bucknell has picked up five wins and has suffered six losses to the Retrievers.

Last Time Against Villanova -
- The Orange and Blue defeated Villanova, 6-1, on April 11, 2006 for Bucknell's eighth win over the Wildcats in a series that began in 1995. In the past 12 years, the Bison have only suffered two losses to Villanova.

Last Time Against Lehigh -
- Bucknell defeated Lehigh, 5-2, on April 10, 2007.
- The series between Bucknell and Lehigh began in 1977. Bucknell has tallied 16 wins while Lehigh has recorded 23.

Spring 2008 Singles Records -
- Caitlin Baffa - 2-4 (1-1, No. 4), (0-2, No. 5), (1-1, No. 6)
- Carlin Calcaterra - 5-5 (0-1, No. 2), (2-2, No. 3), (3-2, No. 4)
- Dara Dwojewski - 4-5 (0-1, No. 3), (1-2, No. 4), (3-2, No. 5)
- Paulina Gamboa - 3-5 (0-2 No. 1), (3-3, No. 2)
- Lauren Lucido - 6-4 (3-0, No. 1), (0-2, No. 2), (3-2, No. 3)
- Lauren Rottkamp - 6-2 (1-0, No. 3), (0-1, No. 5), (5-1, No. 6)
- Kirstyn Sotak - 1-0 (No. 6)
- Tania Varela - 3-2 (No. 1)
- Renee Weissend - 1-2 (1-0, No. 5), (0-2, No. 6)

2008 Spring Doubles Records -
- Caitlin Baffa / Dara Dwojewski - 2-5 (1-2, No. 2), (1-3, No. 3)
- Carlin Calcaterra / Paulina Gamboa - 3-5 (1-3, No. 1), (2-2, No. 2)
- Lauren Lucido / Tania Varela - 4-2 (No. 1)
- Lauren Lucido / Caitlin Baffa - 1-1 (No. 2)
- Lauren Lucido / Renee Weissend - 0-1 (No. 3)
- Lauren Lucido / Lauren Rottkamp - 0-1 (No. 3)
- Dara Dwojewski / Renee Weissend - 1-1 (No. 3)
- Kirstyn Sotak / Renee Weissend - 1-0 (No. 3)

Current Bison in the Bucknell Record Books -
- All-Time Top-15: Combined Victories
- Paulina Gamboa - 83 (No. 9)
- All-Time Top-15 Doubles Victories
- Paulina Gamboa - 42 (No. 9)
- Caitlin Baffa - 34 (No. 13)
- Tania Varela - 33 (Tied No. 14)
- All-Time Top-15 Combined Winning Percentage
- Tania Varela - .663 (No. 14)

Bison in Fall 2007 Tournament Play -
- Bucknell closed out the fall season at the ITA East Regional Championships in Norfolk, Va. on Oct. 20, with Lucido and Varela falling in the third round of doubles, 9-8, 7-4, to 11th-seeded Michal Amir and Julia Huschke of Maryland to bring the duo's doubles record to 10-2 for the fall season. Lucido and Varela opened the weekend with a win over Walaa Elsir and Alexis McCoy of Morgan State in the first round, 8-2, and went on to upset the sixth-seeded pair, Elizabeth Googe and Susan Sullivan of Cornell, 8-6, in the second round.
- Gamboa held a 5-5 overall singles record on the season, 3-1 in Flight 1 and 1-2 in Flight 2. Lucido went 1-1 in Flight 1 singles (3-3 overall) and Varela went 1-3 in Flight 1 singles (1-3 overall).
- In doubles play, Lucido and Varela led the Bison with a record of 5-2 in Flight 1 and 10-2 overall. Baffa and freshman Dara Dwojewski (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) posted a 5-4 doubles record, 3-1 in Flight 1, while Gamboa and Calcaterra went 3-7 overall and 3-5 in Flight 1.

Honors for 2007-08 Season -
- On Jan. 31, Bucknell was picked second in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, with 40 points and two first-place votes. Army took the No. 1 spot with 49 points and nine first-place points. Colgate took third (35 points, one first-place vote), Lehigh was fourth (27 points), Lafayette was fifth (17 points) and Holy Cross rounded out the list in sixth (12 points).
- On Oct. 3, Lucido was named Patriot League Player of the Month for women's tennis. To open her collegiate career, Lucido posted a 10-2 combined record in September. She went 2-1 in singles and 8-1 in doubles when paired with Varela.

Looking Ahead -
- Following the match against Lehigh on April 1, Bucknell will host Pittsburgh on April 4, at 1 p.m., before taking to the road for three Patriot League matches. The Bison will play Colgate on April 5, Army on April 12, and Lafayette on April 13. The Patriot League tournament is scheduled for April 18-20 in West Point, N.Y. and Bucknell will play additional matches against Delaware at home and Bloomsburg away, April 22 and April 23, respectively.