For the first time in program history, the Binghamton men’s tennis team is set to participate in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, hosted at Northern Illinois this weekend.
After a rough start to the season, the Bearcats (7-15, 3-2 MAC) turned their season around at the right time. Entering April with a 2-14 record, including two conference losses, the Bearcats kicked it into high gear by winning five of six in the month.
Headed into the tournament red-hot, the Bearcats are set to make their case. As an experienced team seasoned by a difficult non-conference schedule — which featured nine top-80 teams — Binghamton head coach Nick Zieziula is also ready.
“We’ve been trying to stick with the same work habits that we started with in the beginning of the season,” the first-year said. “We lost a couple of close matches out in Middle Tennessee, but then they showed up to practice on Tuesday and worked hard.”
The Middle Tennessee Shootout in Murfreesboro, Tennessee was a turning point in the season for the Bearcats. After not coming within a point of victory in the eight matches preceding the event, the Bearcats narrowly lost two matches, 3-4, a sign that success was on the horizon. Since returning from MTSU, the Bearcats have only lost once.
Set to face Western Michigan first in the tournament — a team that defeated the Bearcats in the regular season — Zieziula remains confident in his squad.
“The first match was indoors instead of outdoors,” Zieziula said. “These are two completely different teams from the start of the season.”
But don’t mistake Zieziula’s confidence in new territory for pride in his first year on the job.
“I was not hired to make MAC Tournaments,” Zieziula said. “I was hired to continue the success in conference championships that Binghamton has had. We want to work hard and get better every day.”
Binghamton is set to take on Western Michigan at 2 p.m. Friday at the Huskie Tennis Courts in DeKalb, Illinois.