The Binghamton University men’s tennis team kicked off its season with two tourneys. Cornell Fall Invitational and the Virginia Classic had strong performances by many of the Bearcats’ top players, but several unexpected players also stepped up.
Junior Evan Algier, last year’s No. 7 man, turned a few heads this past weekend by showing up in a big way at the Cornell Invitational and winning the “B” singles event.
“He got to play in five matches and he won the event, which is great,” said coach Adam Cohen. “His first couple of matches were not too challenging, but his next three he won all of them in three sets and it was good have him compete in some early tough matches. He played a lot this summer and it is definitely showing. By winning the tournament it definitely shows that hard work pays off.”
Meanwhile, junior Sven Vloedgraven, last year’s America East Player of the Year, beat one nationally ranked opponent at the Virginia Classic and came close to beating another one while competing in the Cornell Invitational. Vloedgraven defeated the 73rd-ranked player in the country, Wael Kilani, 6-4, 7-5, to begin the tournament, but later lost a tough match to 59th-ranked Lee Singer, 6-3, 6-4.
“Sven is a very good competitor and smart player, and I think that he knows he can compete with those guys on that level,” Cohen said. “He is strong mentally and makes his opponents play a lot of balls. He knows how to attack weaknesses and play to his own strengths. He is good using his best shot against his opponent’s worst shot.”
Vloedgraven teamed up with sophomore Gilbert Wong and placed third in the “B1” doubles event at the UVa Classic. Wong and Vloedgraven were two of Binghamton’s best players last year and posted an 8-6 win over a tough Columbia team, showing that they will continue to improve upon last year’s impressive results. In addition to strong doubles play, Wong added a pair of “C” singles victories to his record before he was knocked out.
Sophomore Alexandre Haggai, who last year tallied 13 singles wins playing at third, fourth and fifth singles won the “E” singles event.
While the team’s tournament performances do not count towards their overall record, many individual performances stand out from this weekend and leave fans with plenty to look forward to as the season progresses.
The Bearcats are scheduled to play at the Princeton Farnsworth Invitational on Sept. 18 to 20.