Struggling with injuries, the Binghamton University men’s tennis team dropped its first match of the year to 56th-ranked Columbia University, 4-3. The loss puts the Bearcats at 5-1 on the season, while Columbia, the Northeast’s top-ranked team, improved to 4-3.

“We know we can play with that level of team,” said Binghamton head coach Adam Cohen. “We were just unfortunate with Ruben Devos turning his ankle in the very first game of the first set. That, and [senior Moshe Levy] needing to retire early in the second set, were discouraging. It is the first time since I have been here that I had two guys who were forced to retire. We lost 4-3, but we know we can play with those kinds of teams and beat them. It just wasn’t our day with the injuries.”

Columbia was coming off of a tough loss Monday to their Ivy League rival Harvard in the ECAC Finals, but came out strong, winning all three doubles matches. Among the losses, sophomore Gilbert Wong and junior Sven Vloedgraven, the top-ranked player in the Northeast, lost their first doubles match of the season, 8-5.

Vloedgraven and Wong both rebounded from their early doubles loss by winning at first and fourth singles, respectively. Vloedgraven defeated Jonathan Wong, the No. 2 player in the Northeast, and Gilbert defeated Rajeev Deb-Sen. Jonathan Wong was part of the doubles team that defeated BU’s top team earlier.

Junior Arnav Jain was the only other Bearcat to win. Jain defeated Cyril Bucher 6-7(5), 6-2, 1-0 (10-1) at fifth singles. Bucher, a freshman, played Jain strong before losing in a super-tiebreaker.

Vloedgraven, Wong and Jain have all been outstanding, with none of them losing a dual match this year.

“Sven is going to be a tough out at No. 1,” Cohen said. “He is confident in the way he is playing. Gilbert and Arnav have also been playing real well, either at fourth and fifth or fifth and sixth, so we are real good at those spots.”

Two of the four remaining matches ended early due to players retiring from action.

Levy and freshman Devos both lost after retiring to injuries. Levy is dealing with a back injury, and Devos is dealing with a strained ankle. There is currently no time line for either player, but in the case that either remain out for an extended period of time, Cohen expects freshman Bastian Bornkessel, sophomore Rafael Rodrigues or junior Andreas Danielsson to fill in.

The Bearcats are set to play George Washington and Bucknell this weekend in Ithaca.

“We have got two matches in one day, which will be tough,” Cohen said. “We will be ready to get back to it, though, and we look forward to the challenge.”