Great teams finish their regular seasons 17-4, and go an undefeated 4-0 in conference play. They go on two independent six dual-match winning streaks that see them run the table in the month of March. They see their top six players go a combined 86-30 in singles in dual matches, and see them defeat a Cornell University team that was ranked No. 69 in the country as recently as March 2008.
However, despite their incredible 2008-09, the Binghamton University women’s tennis team missed out on one important accomplishment: becoming America East Conference champions.
The Bearcats come into the 2009-10 season with high expectations. Having lost to the Boston University Terriers the last two seasons in the conference championship match, it is clear that the goal for this season is to pass that hurdle. Binghamton head coach Michael Stevens is entering his seventh season; four of his first six saw his Bearcats lose to Boston, who have won the conference each season since 1995. Stevens believes his team can take the next step with hard work.
“We’ve been there before,” he said. “We’ve been right there with them, but we want to get past them. The team knows what they did last year did not get the job done. They know they need to put in the extra work during the season. The few hours spent on the court and in the weight room are not enough. Individual practices and hard work can take us there.”
While Boston is the favorite to defend as conference champions, Binghamton has plenty of talent at hand as well. Two of its veteran players, juniors Lauren Bates and Yulia Smirnova, will need to be key contributors for the Bearcats this season and their pedigrees suggest that this will be the case. Bates went 15-6 in duals last season, primarily at the top position in the lineup, while Smirnova was a dominant 18-2, mostly playing at third singles. Stevens’ confidence in both players is very high heading into this season.
“Lauren and Yulia both have had two very successful seasons under their belts,” Stevens said. “Both came back to school in excellent shape. I see them being able to bring us to an even better season than last year.”
The Bearcats have more experience on their side this season as they attempt to go one step further than they did in the previous two years. Two years ago, the Bearcats’ best three players were Bates, Smirnova, and Anna Edelman, all freshmen at the time. Last season, Jillian Santos, Marina Bykovskaya, and Yagmur Gone all started as freshmen as well. The Bearcats return most of their lineup from last year, including senior Danyelle Shapiro.
“It helps to have seven of nine players back from last year,” Stevens said. “They know what to expect during the season. They know what it takes to go out there and play a good match against UMBC, Stony Brook or Boston. They know they had to get better after last season and they worked hard over the summer to do that.”
Perhaps no player on the roster knows what to expect and understands the ebb and flow of the tennis season better than Shapiro, the team’s lone senior. Shapiro has been in the singles lineup since her freshman year, and has seen the team lose to Boston in each of the past two seasons. True to her coach’s message, Shapiro plans to work hard this coming season to help her team get to the next level of success.
“As the only senior on the team, I will provide them leadership through hard work and a lead by example,” she said. “We are a team and must come together to have any chance of success. My three years here at Binghamton have taught me how to best overcome obstacles and persevere, and our team will need to do that to succeed.”
Further bolstering its roster, the Bearcats will feature two new players this season: sophomore Ai Iwasaki, a transfer from Westchester Community College, and freshman Jessie Rubin from John F. Kennedy High School in Merrick. Stevens believes both have the ability to help Binghamton immediately.
“[The new recruits] both know that we have a large group of women back from last year,” Stevens said. “They certainly need to work hard to get a spot in the lineup. The lineup has good depth now, which is a very good thing.”
As the season approaches, the Bearcats have taken an optimistic view of what lies ahead, and have shown that they are willing to work hard and do whatever is needed to succeed.
“With Coach in the driver’s seat, and the team on the practice and match courts, we will not allow anything less than 100 percent effort and drive,” said Shapiro. “We showed a lot of heart last year and I believe that we will exceed our accomplishments through our resiliency and goal of winning the conference title.”
The Bearcats are scheduled to kick off their season today as they head to Ithaca for the Cornell Invitational.