The Binghamton women’s tennis team kicked off its season this weekend at the Navy Invitational. The Bearcats picked up a total of eight wins at the competition, winning two matches in the doubles and six in the singles.

“I thought it was a great tournament as always,” said Binghamton head coach Paul Caceres. “They usually get pretty good teams to come out for that event, so good players all around. Even in the consolation draw, you’re still going to get some good match-play experience in there. So overall I thought it was a great opportunity and experience for our team.”

BU’s longest run of the event came courtesy of junior Valeria Gonzalez, who competed in the Flight E bracket. Gonzalez began her tournament with a hard-fought three-set, 6-2, 2-6, 11-9, victory over FDU’s Anais Jenkins. She went on to defeat St. Bonaventure’s Kelly Barnes with a 6-4, 6-1 victory in the quarterfinals, and an injury to her opponent in the semifinals secured her berth in the finals. Despite nearly winning the first set, she was defeated by Navy’s Peyton Amspacher-Philemon 7-6 (2), 6-3, ending her singles run.

“[Gonzalez] had a great tournament,” Caceres said. “She made it to the finals of her flight, had a close win in the first round, and won 11-9 on the super tie-breaker, so a super tight match. She played a tough opponent in the final from Navy, but she hung tough, competed well [and] made it a very competitive match … so very proud of all her efforts over the tournament.” (1)

Freshman Clara Arbeloa Lopez competed in the Flight D portion of the singles event for her first match as a Bearcat, taking down Mary Washington’s Olivia Geoghegan 6-1, 6-2, in the first round. Arbeloa López continued her strong outing with a 6-3, 6-1, victory over FDU’s Kostsina Katsiaryna in the quarterfinals, but she fell to Navy’s Mackenzie Lee 6-2, 7-5, in the semifinal matchup.

“Overall [Arbeloa López and freshmen Kayla Castellano and Julia Pedraza Palacios] did great,” Caceres said. “[Arbeloa López] had a good win in the doubles consolation with [senior Caterina Casadei] so that was good, and she did pretty good in singles as well. She made it all the way to the semifinals in her flight. [Castellano] had a tough first-round match … but I was very happy with the way she competed.”

Casadei was the only other Bearcat to secure a victory in the singles component, rebounding from a first-round loss 6-0, 6-1, against Navy’s Anna Jordaan, and she rallied for a victory over Monmouth’s Lana Brezanin, winning 3-6, 6-4, 10-7, in the consolation quarterfinals. Seniors Natalia Aruj, Maria Pereira, Pedraza Palacios, Castellano and sophomore Nitya Vyas all lost in their first-round matchups.

“[Pedraza Palacios] got some good experience in both the doubles and the singles,” Caceres said. “It was good for her to get that match play experience in there as well … I think they all did their best and can walk away with taking a few lessons from the weekend, so I thought it was great.”

BU’s doubles teams of Pereira and Aruj and Vyas and Castellano competed in the A Flight of the doubles. Castellano and Vyas fell 6-3 to Johns Hopkins in their first-round matchup, and their tournament ended with a 6-4 loss in the consolation match against Navy. Pereira and Aruj faced off against Johns Hopkins in their quarterfinal match, before falling to George Mason 6-2 in their consolation match. Arbeloa López and Casadei earned BU’s sole victory in the doubles, defeating FDU 7-5 in their consolation quarterfinals, after dropping their main draw matchup against Johns Hopkins 6-3. Pedraza Palacios and Gonzalez could not secure a win through two matches, falling to Johns Hopkins 6-2 in the C Flight first round, and to FDU 6-1 in the consolation quarterfinals.

“In the short term, we’re just trying to be healthy, have everyone ready to go [and] trying to figure out the best doubles combinations so that’s something we’ve been kinda working on in practice,” Caceres said. “In the long term, just keep improving day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month, so we can be all ready to go when it comes time for our main season in the spring.”

The Bearcats will continue their season at the St. Lawrence Invitational from Saturday, Sept. 14 to Sunday, Sept. 15. The first match is set for 9 a.m. at the Sammis Tennis Courts in Canton, New York.