The Libby McGovern Era got off to a positive start as the Binghamton University women’s tennis team earned a first-place and two second-places in the Cornell Fall Invitational this weekend.
Junior Jillian Santos was the star for the Bearcats, beating the field to earn the Flight A Singles title. Santos is coming off a 22-12 season, though she was only 9-7 in tournaments. She won 6-3, 6-3 in the final round over Diana Popescu of University at Buffalo.
The doubles teams also put up a good showing, as both the A team of senior Lauren Bates and junior Emma Leibowicz and the B team of Santos and junior Marina Bykovskaya earned second-place finishes. Bates and Leibowicz lost to the A doubles pair from Cornell, while Santos and Bykovskaya dropped their match to opponents from Syracuse University. Seniors Anna Edelman and Yulia Smirnova also participated in the A Doubles Flight, but lost in the semifinal round to the duo from Cornell. Smirnova and Leibowicz were the top seeds in the B and C Singles Flights, respectively, but each lost in the second round to the eventual flight winner from Cornell. BU’s other tournament participants were top-seeded Edelman in A Singles, Bykovskaya in B Singles and newcomer Jennifer Fridman in C Singles. Both Edelman and Bykovskaya lost in the semifinals to the eventual flight champion.
The tournament was the first for new Bearcat head coach Libby McGovern, who took over for six-year head coach Mike Stevens. BU is coming off a second-place America East finish ‘ losing in the tournament finals to Boston University ‘ and a No. 9 Northeast ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The Bearcats are in a strong position, as they experienced very little turnover from last year’s record season and return their top six singles players and top three doubles teams.
Stevens is currently head coach of tournament host Cornell University. Members of his squad earned the B Singles, C Singles and A Doubles Flights titles. Also participating in the tournament were University at Buffalo, Colgate University, St. Bonaventure University, Syracuse University and Temple University. The tournament took place for three days at the Reis Tennis Center in Cornell.
The Bearcats continue their season on Friday as they begin the Cissie Leary Invitational at University of Pennsylvania.