No. 9 seed Boston University pulled off a thrilling comeback to defeat No. 8 Loyola Maryland, 4-3, in the opening round of the 2025 Patriot League Men’s Tennis Championship on Thursday. The match took place at Bucknell’s Varsity Tennis Courts.
The win sends the Terriers to the quarterfinals, where they will face top-seeded Navy on Friday at 9 a.m.
Loyola started strong by securing the doubles point. Noah Castillo and Cristain Pemuller earned a 6-4 victory at No. 1 doubles, and Boston University had to forfeit the No. 3 doubles match due to an incomplete roster. The No. 2 doubles match was left unfinished with Loyola leading 6-5.
Boston’s Gabe Brown quickly leveled the match in singles play, defeating Castillo 6-2, 6-4 at the top spot. Loyola regained the lead after Pemuller beat Jaydon Barki 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5 singles.
The Terriers clawed back with straight-set wins by Cole Knutsen at No. 2 singles and Jonah Dickson at No. 3, tying the match at 3-3. With everything on the line, Ege Topkoc came through in a tight three-set battle, defeating Loyola’s Nick Lawliss 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to clinch the victory for Boston University.
Singles Results (Order of Finish: 6, 1, 5, 2, 3, 4):
- No. 1: Gabe Brown (BU) def. Noah Castillo (LOY) 6-2, 6-4
- No. 2: Cole Knutsen (BU) def. George Cavo (LOY) 6-4, 6-4
- No. 3: Jonah Dickson (BU) def. Blake Edwards (LOY) 6-4, 6-3
- No. 4: Ege Topkoc (BU) def. Nick Lawliss (LOY) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
- No. 5: Cristain Pemuller (LOY) def. Jaydon Barki (BU) 6-2, 6-3
- No. 6: Ryan Boland (LOY) win by forfeit
Doubles Results (Order of Finish: 3, 2):
- No. 1: Castillo/Pemuller (LOY) def. Brown/Dickson (BU) 6-4
- No. 2: Cavo/Lawliss (LOY) vs. Barki/Knutsen (BU), 6-5, DNF
- No. 3: Boland/Quintana (LOY) win by forfeit
2025 Patriot League Men’s Tennis Championship Schedule
Thursday, April 17 – First Round
- No. 9 Boston University 4, No. 8 Loyola Maryland 3
Friday, April 18 – Quarterfinals
- No. 1 Navy vs. No. 9 Boston University – 9 a.m.
- No. 4 Army West Point vs. No. 5 Colgate – 11 a.m.
- No. 3 Lehigh vs. No. 6 Holy Cross – 1:30 p.m.
- No. 2 Bucknell vs. No. 7 Lafayette – 4 p.m.
Saturday, April 19 – Semifinals
- Winner of Navy/BU vs. Army/Colgate – 10 a.m.
- Winner of Lehigh/Holy Cross vs. Bucknell/Lafayette – 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 20 – Championship
- Semifinal winners – 1 p.m.
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