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Bucknell's Varela Named Patriot League Tennis Player of the Year as Bison Place Three on All-League Teams
May 4, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Tania Varela (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy) was named the Patriot League Tennis Player of the Year and three Bison were named All-League, it was announced on Tuesday. Varela and Lauren Lucido (Woodstock, Md./St. Paul’s School for Girls) were both first team selections, while Dumitrita Iepuras (Chisinau, Moldova/Germantown Friends School) was named to the second team. Varela becomes the second Bison in program history to earn the title of Player of the Year, joining Nada Curcic in 2004-05. The current senior is also the first player in program history to earn first team honors four times. In her final season, Varela amassed a record of 30-6 in singles and 20-8 in doubles while twice earning Patriot League Player of the Month honors. A team co-captain, Varela led Bucknell to its sixth consecutive Patriot League Championship before the team fell 4-3 to Army in one of the closest matches in tournament history. Varela continued her undefeated streak in Patriot League action at the tournament and brought her overall winning streaks to a program-record 19 in singles and 18 in doubles. Varela concluded her career in the Orange and Blue with the school record in wins (41-11) and winning percentage (.788) at No. 1 singles. She also ranks third in career doubles victories (73-30), fourth in singles victories (75-25) and tied for third in combined victories (148-55). Helping Varela to her doubles winning streak was fellow first-team selection Lucido. This marks the junior’s third all-league accolade as she was named to the second team in each of her first two seasons as a Bison. Lucido closed out the season with a 28-6 record in singles, good for second on the team behind Varela, and a 21-5 tally in doubles, which was a squad best. In addition to her 19-match doubles winning streak, Lucido finished the season with 14 straight victories in singles.
With one full year left to play, Lucido has already entered Bucknell’s top 10 list in victories. She currently ranks sixth all-time in singles wins (62-25), fifth in doubles wins (67-21) and sixth in combined wins (132-46). Iepuras makes her second consecutive appearance on the Patriot League’s second team. The sophomore was one of three Bison to reach the 20-win mark in singles this season, finishing with a record of 23-10. She also went 18-10 in doubles, playing primarily at the No. 3 position with Daria Tuzhikova (Minsk, Belarus/Gymnasium No. 7). After getting off to a rocky start in the spring, Iepuras finished by winning 10 of her last 11 completed matches in singles, including a three-set victory over Army’s Jessica Ahn in the Patriot League Championship. Iepuras, who was the 2009 Rookie of the Year in the Patriot League, finished her sophomore season tied for 13th all-time at Bucknell in singles wins with a 46-15 record. She is also tied for 18th in program history in combined victories at 67-30. Bucknell finished its 2009-10 season with a 14-7 record overall and went 4-1 in the Patriot League. Its three all-league selections is second behind Army, the defending Patriot League Champions, which had five. All-league teams and major awards are decided by a vote of Patriot League head coaches who cannot vote for their own athletes. Major Awards First Team All-Patriot League Second Team All-Patriot League* |
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