One would think Sunday’s beautiful weather provided a great stage for a tennis match, but with a 7-0 bludgeoning of Hartford, the Binghamton women’s tennis team thought otherwise.

The Bearcats (5-5, 1-0 AE) continued their recent dominance of the Hawks (0-10, 0-3 AE) by beating them without dropping a match for the fifth time since 2001. Last year, Binghamton rolled over Hartford 4-0 in the first round of the America East tournament, and this season’s Bearcats are even more powerful.

Star recruit Juliana Umeki, last week’s America East Player of the Week, continued her undefeated career in dual matches with a 6-1, 6-1 annihilation of Hartford’s No. 1, Lauren Perry.

“I didn’t play my best, but I played well,” said a modest Umeki, who improved to a stellar 10-0 in dual matches.

The rout was on from the outset, as the Bearcats did not drop a game in doubles, winning all three matches 8-0. Umeki, a freshman who never played doubles in her homeland of Brazil, teamed up with captain Zeynep Altinay at second doubles for a quick victory.

“It was a great day, as usual,” said a smiling Altinay.

Her 6-1, 6-1 win at second doubles keeps her on pace to break the BU all-time wins record of 69 by season’s end. The junior has 64 singles victories in her career, with five regular-season matches remaining.

The story continues to be the power struggle at the top, with Umeki holding strong at the No. 1 singles spot again this week. There is certainly no bad blood on the team, however, as Altinay and Umeki have become very close friends on and off the court.

Asked how she felt about playing No. 2, Altinay responded, “The second court is more in the center, closer to [the stands].”

She laughed, and added, “I used to feel isolated on the side.”

“They get along great,” said head coach Mike Stevens of his pocket aces. “They’re good friends.”

Junior J.J. Koprivica swept her opponent at third singles, 6-0, 6-0, and junior Lya Kushnirovich picked up a 6-1, 6-0 victory at the fourth spot. Sophomore Jen Naegeli earned an easy 6-0, ret. win at fifth singles.

Freshman Alex Sinclair jumped back into the lineup at sixth singles with a 6-0, 6-0 victory. It was Sinclair’s first match back in the lineup since March 4 at Niagara.

“The deeper our team, the better our team becomes,” Stevens said. “She earned the spot to play.”

The Bearcats return to action next Saturday with an 11 a.m. home match against UMBC, and a 2 p.m. tilt with Stony Brook on Monday afternoon. The Bearcats earned a hard-fought 4-3 victory against the Seawolves last season, and another close match is anticipated next week. Admission is, of course, free.

“We hope to get the bigger crowds out there this weekend,” Stevens said.