New coach, new players, but same dominating result.
The Binghamton men’s tennis team opened the 2006-2007 season last weekend at the non-scoring Bloomsburg Invitational. The short-handed Bearcats went 14-2 in singles play and 6-3 in doubles matches under new head coach Adam Cohen.
“It was a good weekend for us,” Cohen said. “I’m getting to know the guys; about them and where they are from, and what they are like besides the tennis stuff.”
Only six players took the trip, and four of them were newcomers. Moshe Levy, a 23-year-old freshman from Israel, went undefeated playing second singles and had a comeback win 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (11-9) in his first match of the weekend against Villanova. Freshman Pierre Clavel, who hails from France, also won all of his singles matches this weekend in straight sets at third singles.
Brooklyn-raised freshman Justin Salkin won all of his singles matches at fourth singles, including two comeback wins — one against Villanova 2-6, 7-6 (2), 1-0 (10-3), the other against Bucknell 6-7 (5), 6-3, 1-0 (10-6). Freshman Riena Kohtake, a walk-on, was 2-1 on the weekend, winning his first match of the season in comeback style against Villanova, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6).
“I think we did really well,” said assistant coach Brian O’Connor, who graduated last year and was a four-year starter for the Bearcats, breaking the all-time singles wins record with 86. “It’s always tough for freshmen and the guys who have never played, but it was a good weekend.”
The two returning Binghamton players at the invitiational were sophomore Danish Ali, who was not in the lineup last year, and junior Faisal Mohamed. Ali lost his only singles match against Bucknell in straight sets while Mohamed was 3-0 at first singles, including a tough match that he pulled out against Bucknell’s Ira Reibeisen.
“It was close the whole way,” Mohamed said. “We were rivals in high school, so I wanted my revenge on [Reibeisen]. I think the weekend went well, even though it was tough without Alex [Dobrin] and Jon [Bonnet], but the younger guys got good experience and I think we all played well.”
Next up for the Bearcats will be the Cornell Invitational, where they will see tougher competition from the likes of America East rival Stony Brook. While the two teams may not face each other, both will be seeing where they measure up against the other.
“Our biggest goal is to try to get better each day,” Cohen said. “If we are doing that, we will be solid by the end of the season.”