It’s good to be back home.
The men’s tennis team had its first home match since September on Saturday as the Bearcats defeated Marist 5-2 at the Binghamton Tennis Center.
The Bearcats captured the doubles point thanks to the first doubles team of seniors Brian O’Connor and Edwin Gerard. The pair was down two breaks, 7-3, but managed to come back to win the set in a tiebreaker (7-3).
“The doubles point is always big,” said BU head coach Michael Starke. “To come back from that far down … it’s unheard of for fast indoor tennis.”
That doubles match gave Binghamton the momentum it needed to win four of the six singles matches for the victory. Sophomore Alex Dobrin got the second point for his team, winning quickly at second singles 6-3, 6-3. Gerard was victorious at sixth singles 6-1, 6-1, shortly after to put BU ahead 3-0.
“That’s the sort of thing the team needs to jump start you forward and gain confidence,” Starke said of the magnitude of the doubles point.
Sophomore Faisal Mohamed won at fifth singles 6-4, 6-3 to clinch the victory for the Bearcats.
“I think we really needed the win,” Starke said. “We knew they were going to come in ready so there was a lot of pressure on us to win.”
After the match was already clinched, O’Connor won at third singles 7-6 (7), 6-3, while junior Aurielo Martinez lost at the fourth spot 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. Senior Richemn Mourad also lost at first single 6-2, 6-7 (3), 10-7.
Before the home win, BU was swept on the road against Cornell 7-0. Cornell won all three doubles matches and all six singles matches.
“We were a little outmatched at every position,” Starke said. “We’re playing OK but still need to get a little bit sharper.”
The Bearcats will get a chance to get sharper with the next two weeks off. They don’t return to action until Feb. 24 at the Binghamton Tennis Center against St. Bonaventure.