The Binghamton men’s tennis team’s coach, Adam Cohen, has his team working hard, and only a few weeks into the season, the results are proving to be successful on the court.

The team was triumphant at its second straight invitational, this time at the Cornell Invitational, where they went 17-8 overall in singles play and 6-2 in doubles matches, including winning the top two singles flights and the top doubles flight.

“It was a good weekend for Binghamton tennis,” Cohen said. “We are taking small steps to gaining respect from bigger programs. We need to continue to do well and keep working hard.”

Junior Faisal Mohamed won all four of his matches to win the “A” singles flight. Mohamed beat Cornell’s Joshua Goldstein 6-4, 6-2 in the final and knows his success is because of all the hard work.

“All the tennis we play is really paying off,” Mohamed said. “Practice is much more intense and we have individual sessions. I have never played this good in my life and its really helping my game, on the court and mentally.”

Mohamed also combined with freshman Pierre Clavel to win the “A” doubles flight, winning four matches in a row, highlighted by an 8-6 win in the finals over the top team from Middlebury.

Mohamed was not the only Bearcat to flourish over the weekend. After losing his first-round match, freshman Moshe Levy won three straight matches, including a 4-6, 7-6, 1-0 win over David Jackson of UMBC to win the consolation draw in the “A” flight. Clavel won all four of his matches to win the “B” singles flight, including an easy 6-0, 6-1 victory over Cornell’s Jonathan Fife.

“They are very skilled kids,” Cohen said. “They are still not playing at the highest level, but for only a couple weeks, to have these results is pretty good so far.”

Junior Jon Bonnet, who did not play two weeks ago due to injury, advanced to the semifinals before losing 6-4, 7-5 in the “C” flight singles, and freshman Justin Salkin lost in the finals of the consolation draw in the “C” flight 6-0, 6-1. Junior Alex Dobrin won easily in the first round in the “B” flight 6-1, 6-1 but couldn’t advance due to shoulder soreness.

“He [Dobrin] was sore and stiff from playing three matches,” Cohen said. “His body wasn’t used to it. He’s day-to-day at this point and is seeing a trainer a couple times a day.”

Binghamton’s next match is not until Oct. 7, when they will play at Siena, whom the Bearcats defeated 7-0 last season. In the meantime, the team will continue to build upon its early successes and continue to work hard.

“We are hungry and we want to show these schools we are not a pushover,” Mohamed said. “This weekend shows us that we can be great.”