Zeynep Altinay hails from Turkey, but her mastery of the English language is almost on par with her ability on the court.
‘Our lineup is very, very strong, and now experienced ‘ and powerful ‘ and confident,’ she said. ‘It’s all pretty much good adjectives.’
With just two weeks left in the careers of Altinay and classmate Lya Kushnirovich, the two winningest players in BU tennis history, all those adjectives proved true this weekend when Binghamton (12-2, 2-0 AE) defeated UMBC 4-3 on Saturday in Maryland.
With the victory, Binghamton likely clinches the No. 2 seed for the upcoming America East tournament, to be held at Yale April 28 through April 30.
‘We are coming strong for the conference,’ Altinay said, having won both her singles match 6-1, 6-1, and her match at second doubles with Erica Rosenblum, 8-5. ‘We love the challenge.’
Kushnirovich also was a double-winner on Saturday, earning a straight-set victory at second singles and another victory at first doubles.
‘We are just bringing the experience and trying to lead the team the best way that we can,’ Altinay said. ‘This is definitely the best team we have ever had.’
The Bearcats’ second match of the weekend, a Sunday afternoon date against Stony Brook, was canceled due to the nor’easter. BU will travel to Bucknell today, then host Fairleigh Dickinson tomorrow afternoon before hosting Senior Day this Saturday at 1 p.m. against Albany.
‘We’re bringing the momentum for next weekend,’ Altinay said.