International talent continues to make headlines as the Binghamton University men’s tennis team continued their strong play with wins over UNC Greensboro and Dartmouth on Saturday.
The Bearcats started their night off matching up against and defeating the Spartans of UNC Greensboro, 5-1.
Both schools were undefeated heading into Saturday’s match. Playing only singles, Binghamton won five of the day’s six matches. International recruits Alexandre Haggai from St. Denis, Reunion Island, and Rafael Rodrigues from Sao Paulo, Brazil, took fifth and sixth, respectively, defeating Yaroslav Yitus and William John.
Rodrigues defeated John in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, while Haggai defeated Yitus 5-7, 6-0, 6-2. As expected by Binghamton head coach Adam Cohen, the two have made an immediate contribution to the team.
“Any time you can get freshmen to clinch a match for you, it builds confidence for them as well as for the whole team,” Cohen said.
The Bearcats’ lone defeat came at first singles, where Spartan freshman Orcun Syrek defeated Moshe Levy, 6-4, 6-3. The Turkish prospect remains perfect on the season, with wins in singles and doubles coming over Army and Dartmouth, as well as his victory over Levy.
In the second match of the day, the Bearcats defeated Dartmouth, 4-3.
Despite wins at first and second singles, Dartmouth’s doubles teams continued to struggle. The Ivy League host lost both matches over the weekend, going 1-2 in matches against UNC Greensboro and dropping all three matches against Binghamton.
Joining Haggai and Rodrigues as standouts from this weekend was Gilbert Wong, a first-year recruit from Hong Kong. Wong, who’s resume features a career-high ranking of 228, as well as holding his nation’s No. 1 ranking in both 16s and 18s, won in straight-set fashion, 6-4, 6-4, over sophomore Stephen Greif.
“It was a nice weekend to go beat two quality opponents on the same day,” Cohen said, according to a Binghamton University press release. “Now we have to get ready for a very good Cornell team.”
The Bearcats will travel to Cornell tomorrow, where they look to remain undefeated against another Ivy League title contender. Cornell has all but two players back from last year’s team, with seniors Kyle Doppelt, Josh Goldstein and Mark Asch captaining the squad. For the Bearcats, the ultimate goal remains the same: to improve.
The meet is set for a 5 p.m. start.