The Binghamton University women’s tennis squad once again took a liking to the environment at the Cornell Winter Invitational. The Bearcats opened the first round of the three-day tournament winning 10 out of their first 14 matches.
In Flight A Doubles, senior Anna Edelman and junior Marina Bykovskaya defeated Annie Hang and Jurelle Mendoza of Army, 9-7. Junior Jillian Santos and senior Yulia Smirnova defeated Lauren Lucido and Elena Vidrascu of Bucknell by the same score of 9-7. In the quarterfinal round of Flight B Doubles, senior Lauren Bates and junior Emma Leibowicz defeated Lauren Rottkamp and Elizabeth Morgan of Bucknell 8-1, and junior Basak Gone and freshman Jen Fridman bested Audrey Hansen and Morgen Kiser of Army, also by the score of 8-1.
In the Round of 16 of Flight A Singles, 75 percent of the Bearcats moved on, starting with Edelman posting a victory over Audrey Hanson of Army, 6-1, 6-4. Bates and Santos also posted wins in straight sets over Elena Vidrascu of Bucknell, 6-0, 6-0, and Patricia Vollmer, 6-0, 6-3, respectively. Smirnova fell to Lauren Lucido of Bucknell, 4-6, 3-6. In the Round of 16 in Flight B Singles, Leibowicz defeated Holly Pappafotis of Army 6-0, 6-0, and sophomore Jessie Rubin lost to Ruxandra Dumitrescu 6-0, 6-0. In the quarterfinal round, Leibowicz fell to Leah Seyburn of Cornell in a tiebreaker, 1-6, 6-2, 10-8. Bykovskaya bested Elizabeth Kaufman by a score of 7-6, (7-4), 6-4, and Gone lost to Shannon Comolli 6-4, 6-2. Finally, Fridman topped Morgen Kiser in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3.
On Day 2, a similar trend continued. In the quarterfinals of Flight A Singles, Edelman defeated Kelly Comolli of Cornell, 6-4, 6-4, and Santos defeated Sinziana Chis, also of Cornell, in a heated match, 7-6 (7-1), 1-6, 10-4. Bates, however, fell to Ryann Young of Cornell, 6-3, 6-1. In the semifinals, Edelman moved on to the finals, defeating Young 6-1, 6-3, and Santos was bested by Christine Ordway of Cornell, 6-2, 6-1. In the quarterfinals of Flight B Singles, the matches were much more competitive. Bykovskaya defeated Carly Riney of Army, 6-2, 7-6 (12-10), while Ruxandra Dumitrescu defeated Fridman, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Bykovskaya advanced to the finals, defeating Leah Seyburn of Cornell, 6-3, 6-4.
In the semifinal round of Flight A Doubles, the Bearcats split, with Edelman and Bykovskaya defeating Ryann Young and Christine Ordway 8-5, and Santos and Smirnova falling to Kelly and Shannon Comolli, 8-4. The Bearcats suffered the same fate in the semifinals of Flight B Doubles, with Bates and Leibowicz beating Elizabeth Kaufman and Sarah O’Neil of Cornell, 8-4, and Gone and Fridman losing to Ruxandra Dumitrescu and Sinziana Chis, 8-3.
On the third day, the action was heated in all categories. Edelman and Bykovskaya suffered a narrow defeat in the finals and finished second to Shannon and Kelly Comolli of Cornell, dropping the set 9-8 after a tiebreak of 7-4. However, the Bearcats were able to snag the third spot, as well, with Santos and Smirnova winning the third-place playoff over Ryann Young and Christine Ordway of Cornell by a score of 8-4. In the Flight B Doubles Final, Bates and Leibowicz topped Ruxandra Dumitrescu and Sinziana Chis by a score of 8-4, for an overall impressive showing in the doubles category.
The singles matches were no different, as the Bearcats managed to post equally proficient results there also. In the Flight A Singles Final, Edelman defeated Christine Ordway in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, for a convincing win. Edelman is ranked No. 2 in the ITA Division I Northeast standings, and she was able to avenge her semifinal loss at Cornell’s Invitational, suffered four months ago to fellow Bearcat Santos. In the third-place playoff, Santos fell to Ryann Young of Cornell, 6-4, 6-7 (7-3), 10-5. Smirnova took the consolation final over Jurelle Mendoza of Army by a score of 6-1, 6-4. In the Flight B Singles Final, Bykovskaya fell to Ruxandra Dumitrescu of Cornell, 6-4, 0-6, 10-5. Meanwhile, Gone took the consolation match over Holly Pappafotis in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
The Bearcats have a road tilt set for Friday against Syracuse University. The match is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start.