The Binghamton men’s tennis team enjoyed a successful weekend, winning both of its matches 4-3 to improve to 3-2 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and increasing its winning streak to four matches. The women’s tennis team (7-11, 1-2), on the other hand, was unable to win its home conference game against Stony Brook (8-5, 2-1 America East) over the weekend, falling, 6-1.
On Friday, Binghamton (11-7, 3-2 MAC) hosted Western Michigan (16-5, 4-1), who was undefeated in conference play before entering the Bearcats Sports Complex.
After losing the doubles point, Binghamton’s hopes of winning looked bleak.
However, the Bearcats were not to be outdone on the singles courts, as senior Eliott Hureau fought back to win first singles after dropping the first set, 6-0. Junior Thomas Caputo and freshman Valentin Bouchet followed suit, taking their opponents down in straight sets.
Tied at 3-3, Binghamton needed a win from its sixth singles spot. Junior Frenk Kote came through in the clutch, winning the last two sets 6-3, 6-0 to give the Bearcats a much-needed victory. In a competitive MAC conference, in which only the top four teams make the postseason tournament, the Bearcats needed a signature win to assert themselves as major players in the conference, which they got on Friday.
Binghamton has struggled in close contests this season, but it seems as if all of its hard work under second-year head coach Nick Zieziula is finally starting to show in the win column.
“In the short term, if you’re going to pick a time to turn it on, getting into April and starting to play your best tennis is definitely when you want to do it,” Zieziula said.
The men continued their winning ways on Sunday when they defeated St. Joe’s, 4-3, in Philadelphia. Even though the Hawks were a different opponent and an out-of-conference match, the win against St. Joe’s (10-11, 5-4 A10) followed a very similar script to the Bearcats’ match against Western Michigan. BU dropped the doubles point then rallied to win four singles matches.
While the win was a positive result, Zieziula wants to see more out of his players on the doubles court.
“We found the ability in singles to play with conviction and belief in what we’re doing,” Zieziula said. “We need to get there in doubles. We have a lot of room for improvement there.”
Caputo, Kote and Bouchet earned their second wins of the weekend, while freshman Ludovico Cestarollo earned his 17th victory of the year.
“Everyone else’s record doesn’t matter,” Zieziula said. “We’re just trying to put ourselves into a position to qualify for the tournament. If you look at the last six years of the tournament, the top seed almost never wins it.”
On the women’s side, BU managed just one point against Stony Brook. The win came from the sixth singles slot when sophomore Olga Ostrovetsky grabbed an 8-5 victory. Ostrovetsky also teamed up with senior Agatha Ambrozy to win the third doubles game, although Stony Brook won first and second doubles to take the doubles point.
With the loss to the Seawolves, the Binghamton women remained tied for last in the America East and extended their losing streak to four matches.
The women are set to return to action on Saturday when they host the University of Albany. First serve is set for 1 p.m. from the Binghamton Tennis Center in Vestal, New York. The men are set to take on the University at Buffalo on April 21. First serve is set for 1 p.m. from the Ellicott Tennis Courts in Buffalo, New York.