Binghamton University women’s tennis is streaking to the finish line.
After dropping two dual matches in a row, Binghamton (13-2, 2-0 America East) righted the ship on March 21 with a win over Villanova and have not looked back. Binghamton dropped Albany, 7-0, on Wednesday to run its record to 13-2 and extend its winning streak to six dual matches.
The Bearcats were dominant in their defeat of the Great Danes. They did not drop a single set in nine matches, the closest affair being a 6-2, 7-5 victory by sophomore Marina Bykovskaya over fellow sophomore Aubrey Brooks at fifth singles. Binghamton dropped just four games in doubles across three matches and another 21 in six singles affairs on the day.
Binghamton head coach Mike Stevens was proud of his team’s effort. Since the beginning of the year, he cited his team’s hard work as the reason his group was able to dominate in the dual with Albany.
‘Everyone is playing well,’ Stevens said. ‘The team seems to be peaking at the right time. Everyone has improved a lot this semester and it all goes back to the hard work we have put in since August.’
Binghamton’s performance at doubles against the Great Danes was particularly encouraging. Anna Edelman and Bykovskaya won 8-3 over Livia Gherman and Laine Mackey at the top spot, Lauren Bates and Emma Leibowicz rolled Susan Ma and Brooks 8-1, while Jillian Santos and Yulia Smirnova shut out Sarah Iannone and Melissa Coughlin in an 8-0 victory.
Throughout this season, doubles has been something of a barometer for this team’s performance. The Bearcats have won the doubles point 12 of 15 times this season. Of those three matches, two were losses to Marquette and Syracuse; Army was the only team Binghamton has beaten this season after losing the doubles point. Played before singles, doubles gives a tennis team the chance for a 1-0 lead going into singles, and the opportunity to split the six matches and win. This is something the Bearcats have done to Cornell, UNC Wilmington and Richmond this season.
Stevens credits working hard on his team’s doubles strategies and variety of formations for his team’s success in that area.
‘Doubles has been really clicking for us. We have worked hard on that aspect all winter long,’ Stevens said. ‘We’ve spent a lot of time mixing things up, working on different formations.’
With their performance, the Bearcats have closed in on some milestones. Bates recorded her 71st career victory as a Bearcat with a 6-1, 6-1 rout over Gherman, placing her 15 wins behind Zeynep Altinay’s (2003-2007) record. By cruising to victory 6-3, 6-1 over Ma, Edelman bolstered her r√É.√®sum√É.√® as the nation’s 123rd-ranked player. Finally, should the Bearcats win their final two contests of the season tomorrow against Stony Brook and Hartford, they will finish 15-2. The 88 percent win percentage would represent the best record ever compiled by Stevens and the program as a whole.
Binghamton finishes its regular season tomorrow at the West Gym tennis courts, with matches against Stony Brook at 9 a.m. and Hartford at 3 p.m. The Bearcats will then have a week off as they await their seeding for the AE Conference tournament, which begins April 30.