The Binghamton men’s and women’s tennis teams both hit the road this weekend. The men opened their fall season by competing in the Army Shootout while the women participated in the Navy Invitational.
Five different women won their singles matches on the first day of the two-day invitational, including BU’s top returners, senior Annie DiMuro and junior Olga Ostrovetsky. Binghamton swept its matches in flights A and B on Friday.
In doubles flight A, both of Binghamton’s pairs won their opening matches before falling in the next round. DiMuro and freshman Samara Eisenberg were the first pair, and Ostrovetsky and freshman Rebecca Dellaway were the second. Junior Paulina Tafler and freshman Michelle Eisenberg exited doubles flight B with a first round loss to Air Force.
BU had its ups and downs on day two of the tournament, as DiMuro lost her quarterfinal matchup in flight A and Dellaway lost her quarterfinal in flight B.
Eisenberg defeated Monmouth senior Adriana Armendariz in straight sets to reach the flight A semifinals. Ostrovetsky and Samara also reached the semifinals in their respective flights. All three were eliminated in the semifinals, but three players reaching singles semifinals is a good sign for the squad this early in the season. BU’s three freshmen tallied a 5-3 record in singles play.
Rookies also led the way on the men’s side at the Army Shootout.
“I think the team performed pretty well [but] it is very early in the season,” said BU men’s tennis assistant coach James Hignett. “It was great to see [the five freshman] play a lot.”
Freshman Sebastian Quiros went 1-2 while classmate Agustin Cattoretti went 0-3 during the singles draw, but in doubles, the pair went 3-1. Binghamton’s three other freshmen, Tiago Lourenco, Kushaan Nath and Amerigo Valenti, went 2-2, 2-2 and 1-2 respectively.
“They can definitely improve a lot on what they did,” Hignett said, “But they did really well for their first tournament in college.”
The men’s team is using its early-season schedule to gauge its younger players’ ability to succeed at the Division I level.
“I think it is really important for them to see what the level is like out there,” Hignett said. “There is such a high quality of college tennis out there, it’s great for the guys to really see it early on so they don’t settle and they’re ready to keep working hard.”
Binghamton started just three returning players at the shootout. Senior Thomas Caputo led the way finishing 3-1 in singles play. Sophomore Inigo Saez also compiled a 3-1 record while classmate Josh Druger went 2-2. Caputo was BU’s only regular lineup player from last year who competed in the tournament.
“[Caputo] did really well; he didn’t get to play much tennis over the summer, so it was great for him to play his first tournament and get back in the lineup,” Hignett said.
Hignett hopes his players will continue to use these tournaments as a chance to improve their play.
“We’re not really too worried about results,” he said. “We’re focused on competing well and working on the things we need to work on.”
The men’s tennis team is set to host the Binghamton Championships next weekend from Friday to Sunday. First serve is scheduled for Friday at 8 a.m. from Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York. The women’s team is set to play in the Army Invitational next weekend in West Point, New York.