The Binghamton University women’s tennis team’s dual-season-opening weekend pitted the Bearcats against a pair of formidable opponents. The result was a split, including a tight loss to Syracuse University and a blowout of Seton Hall.
The Bearcats (1-1) first faced Syracuse University (3-1) on Friday, the first of two matches in a three-day span. During the dual match, the Bearcats were unable to win the doubles point and went on to split the rest of the singles matches, which resulted in a close 4-3 decision.
Senior Lauren Bates and junior Emma Leibowicz accounted for the team’s only doubles victory, beating the Orange’s third doubles team of freshmen Aleah Marrow and Eva Raszkiewicz by a score of 8-1. The same combination previously won the Flight B Doubles crown at the Cornell Winter Invitational last weekend. Junior Jillian Santos garnered a victory at second singles in come-from-behind fashion over freshman Maddie Kobelt, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3). Santos improved to 12-4 in singles play on the season thus far, including tournament play.
Meanwhile, fellow junior Marina Bykovskaya contributed a fifth-singles victory in straight sets over senior Christina Tan, 7-5, 7-6 (5), while junior Yulia Smirnova posted a win at fourth singles over Marrow, 6-3, 6-2. Senior Anna Edelman, who finished atop the Flight A Singles ladder at the Cornell Winter Invitational, lost a close first singles contest to junior Alessondra Parra, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5).
At first doubles, Bykovskaya and Edelman fell to Kobelt and junior Emily Harman, 8-2, while Santos and Smirnova fell to Parra and senior Simone Kalhorn by the same score of 8-2. Bates fell in a tight match at third singles to Harman, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5, and Leibowicz fell at sixth-singles to Kalhorn by a score of 6-2, 6-0. Finally, freshman Jennifer Fridman wrapped up seventh singles with a win over senior Jacquelynn Tang, 8-4, though the result did not count toward team scoring.
Two days later, the Bearcats took on Seton Hall University (1-3) in a match hosted by Army at West Point. They produced a 7-0 shutout of the Pirates with all six Bearcats earning a pair of victories. At first singles, Edelman defeated Pui Wing Sher, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) and Santos defeated Rocio Portela at second singles by a score of 6-2, 6-0. At third singles, Bates topped senior Belfin Sunbul in a close second set tiebreaker, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) and Smirnova defeated Elizabeth Verow in straight sets at fourth singles, 6-1, 6-0. At fifth and sixth singles, Bykovskaya shut out Courtney Kilarski 6-0, 6-0 and Leibowicz defeated Karina Cordero 6-2, 6-4, respectively. In doubles play, the duo of Bykovskaya and Edelman defeated Sher and Portela 8-3 at first doubles, while Bates and Leibowicz toppled Verow and Michelle Weerasinghe 8-4. Finally, at third doubles, Santos and Smirnova defeated Belfin Sunbul and Cordero by a score of 8-1, and Fridman and Basak Gone garnered a victory in an extra doubles match against Courtney Kilarski and Slavina Kaplanska, 8-2.
Binghamton is set to take its 1-1 record to Cornell University to face the Big Red in a dual meet scheduled for a 3 p.m. start on Saturday. The Bearcats are also set for a dual the following day at Bucknell University, which is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.