Before the weekend’s match against Siena, Binghamton University women’s tennis coach Mike Stevens said, ‘Siena is a good team. We played them close last year. I expect a tough match.’ Don’t even try to tell that to the Binghamton women’s tennis team.
Stevens may have expected a slugfest this weekend against Siena, but his team showed him that they are perhaps better than even he believes. The Bearcats thrashed Siena 7-0 on Alumni Saturday at the West Gym courts. Amidst a celebration of the school’s former graduates, Binghamton made sure it won its first dual match of the year in outstanding fashion.
Stevens was very impressed with the efforts of his team.
‘Everyone played well today,’ he said. ‘We did what we needed to do to win handily.’
He had good reason to be pleased. His top players again impressed with their very solid play. No. 1 Anna Edelman won a tight three-set match over her counterpart Sarah Mayer, a match that was a very encouraging sign for a player that will command the top spot all year. Stevens was delighted to see Edelman pull the match out.
‘Anna played very well. Sarah Mayer is a top player in the region. That was great to see,’ Stevens said.
With the win, Edelman improved to 8-1 for the year. Second singles Lauren Bates continued her very impressive start to the season, improving her singles and doubles records to a robust 10-0 with two victories in which she didn’t surrender a single game. Winning BU’s Athlete of the Week after winning the Quinnipiac Invitational, Bates has been the star of the fall. Bates and Edelman also looked fantastic together in doubles.
‘Anna and Lauren are playing very well together,’ Stevens said.
Binghamton saw encouraging signs from the rest of its players as well. Freshman Yulia Smirnova looked sharp in cruising to a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the third singles spot. Danyelle Shapiro, in many ways the team’s vocal leader, won her fourth consecutive match at the fourth singles position. Shapiro, expected to be the team’s glue in the middle of the lineup, is having a very solid fall season and has won all nine matches she’s contested. In a very encouraging development, upperclassmen Gayathri Balasundar and Alex Sinclair bolstered the team with big victories at fifth and sixth singles, as well as third doubles.
Overall, the Bearcats showed Siena who was boss this weekend. Binghamton concludes its fall season on Oct. 19 at the ITA Regionals, but has yet to decide which players will be attending. The way all the girls are performing, they surely haven’t made that decision an easy one.