Coming off a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Columbia University, the Binghamton University men’s tennis team wasted no time getting back on track with a relentless 7-0 thrashing of George Washington University Saturday at the Reis Tennis Center in Ithaca, N.Y. The Bearcats’ other scheduled match against Bucknell was postponed.

The dominant win was a great indicator of how much depth the Bearcats have on their roster. They were victorious in all three doubles matches and all six singles matches despite missing senior Moshe Levy and freshman Ruben Devos due to back and ankle injuries.

Sophomore Rafael Rodrigues and freshman Bastian Bornkessel were able to fill in splendidly for their injured teammates. At the No. 5 singles spot, Bornkessel dropped his first set against Richard Blumenfeld before coming back to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, while Rodrigues disposed of Arya Vayghan quickly in a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles.

“I thought Rafael played well after not having played any dual matches yet this spring,” said head coach Adam Cohen. “Bastian lost his first set, but then came back and was up 6-1, 5-2 and had a chance to serve it out right there. He couldn’t do it there, but was able to at 5-4. It was good to see both those guys play well.”

Junior Sven Vloedgraven continued his remarkable season by notching up an effortless 6-2, 6-0 win over Yan Levinski at the No. 1 singles spot. He improved to 19-6 overall and 6-1 in dual matches.

Adding to his already impressive season, Vloedgraven has finally cracked the national singles rankings. Entering the national top 125 poll at No. 117, Vloedgraven is the first Bearcat to receive a national ranking since Dan Hanegby five years ago.

“He definitely deserves to be in the rankings,” said Cohen. “He’s one of the top 100 kids in the country. He’s at 117 right now, but I think that Sven is playing at a level much better than his ranking. Hopefully he can keep playing well and keep moving up as the season progresses.”

After winning the ITA Northeast Regional tournament in the fall and being ranked No. 1 in the Northeast for two months now, it was surprising in Cohen’s eyes that it took this long for Vloedgraven to finally get the recognition that he deserved.

“I think Sven knew all along where he belongs,” Cohen said. “He’s only lost one match this spring to a guy from West Point and that guy played lights out against him. I don’t think he’s dropped a set besides in that one loss so he’s more or less taking care of business every match.”

The Bearcats (6-1) travel to New Jersey on Saturday to face the Princeton Tigers (2-5). Levy and Devos will be making the trip but their playing status is currently up in the air.