The Binghamton men’s tennis team sealed its bid for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament over the weekend with a 6-1 victory at home over Northern Illinois. The Bearcats (13-8, 4-3 MAC) clinched a playoff spot just three days after a 5-2 loss to Buffalo, and now have their sights set on making the NCAA Tournament.
Binghamton nearly won all three doubles sets, but the third set was called when senior Eliott Hureau and freshman Josh Druger had match point. This was the second time in three matches in which Binghamton won the doubles point, a trend BU head coach Nick Zieziula hopes continues into the MAC tournament.
“That’s the best doubles performance we’ve had on all three courts this year,” Zieziula said. “If we can start out and play well, then that’s gonna give us a big confidence boost.”
On the singles courts, freshman Valentin Bouchet continued his stellar first season as a Bearcat with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 victory. The win brought him to 21-9 on the season, the best singles record on the team.
Binghamton now looks forward to the MAC tournament, where it was defeated by Buffalo in the finals last year. While a rematch with UB would be nothing short of poetic considering the close contest in the finals last year and the fact that Buffalo is Zieziula’s alma mater, Binghamton will first have to focus on defeating the first-seeded Western Michigan squad that defeated the Bearcats the last time they met on a neutral court.
“We’re doing a good job of staying in the moment,” Zieziula said. “We’re not worried about stuff, but we’re not too relaxed. With the talent that this group has, if we play good tennis there is no one that can beat us.”
The Binghamton women’s tennis team, on the other hand, completed its season over the weekend, falling in the America East (AE) semifinals.
In their quarterfinals matchup against Hartford, the Bearcats (8-13, 1-4 AE) made quick work of the Hawks (5-16, 0-3 AE), winning, 4-0. Binghamton won the first four matches to ensure that the doubles point didn’t need to be played.
It was a different story against Albany, however, as Binghamton was on the receiving end of a 4-0 score. The Great Danes (14-7,2-0) quickly won the doubles point, then proceeded to win the first three singles matches to move to the finals. Senior Shea Brodsky was unable to capitalize on a 6-1 first-set victory, dropping the final two sets and giving the third singles point to Albany’s Paulina Torres.
The men’s tennis team will look to bring home its first MAC Tournament Championship this weekend when it is scheduled to travel to Illinois. First serve is set for 10 a.m. on Saturday against top-seeded Western Michigan at the West Tennis Courts in DeKalb, Illinois.