In his junior year, men’s tennis player Sven Vloedgraven has been nothing short of amazing.
As a freshman, Vloedgraven posted a 32-13 combined record between singles and dual matches, along with being named the team’s Most Valuable Player after winning crucial singles and doubles matches against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in the America East championship finals.
As a sophomore, he progressed further and one-upped his team MVP award by winning the title of America East Player of the Year, along with earning first team All-Conference honors for the second straight year. He was able to improve his record as well: between singles and doubles he posted a 43-5 record.
Coming into this season, all signs pointed toward his continued development and a great chance at an excellent season.
“I did not make any adjustments,” said Vloedgraven. “I just do what I always do, which is practice a lot and work hard … During the summer I just played a lot of tennis, as I always do. This way I don’t need to get used to playing tennis again once I go back to school in August and can start the year with confidence.”
With the conclusion of the fall season, Vloedgraven has continued to thrive in his role as the No. 1 player on the team. He was able to go 3-0 at first singles in the Brown Invitational, and in the Virginia Classic he was able to win two matches, reaching the semifinals at “A-2” singles. And en route to his fourth-place finish in Virginia, he was able to knock out the 73rd-ranked player in the country, University of South Florida’s Wael Kilani — all along with a 13-5 final record for the fall.
“I don’t know why I have been so successful, really,” said Vloedgraven. “I just played well at the tournament that matters the most, which are the regionals. I also played well in our first tournament in Virginia, where I beat a nationally ranked player for the first time. For the rest, I just always try to get better and try hard in my matches and during practice, which never hurts.”
However, more impressive than his 3-0 record at Brown and his semifinal finish in the Virginia Classic, is that he was the first player in BU history to win the ITA Northeast Regional. Out of a 128-man draw, he was seeded fourth, and defeated six players (among them the 17th-, fifth- and 12th-seeded players) before a 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 win in the title game.
“It’s a big accomplishment for me to even go to this tournament,” said Vloedgraven. “[This is] something that never happened to [anyone] else in the program. The players will be of a high level from big schools in the nation, so I just hope that I play well and represent my team and school in a good way. And maybe I can surprise people by advancing a round.”
“It was a tremendous effort by Sven and a great achievement for Binghamton men’s tennis,” head coach Adam Cohen said in a Binghamton University press release. “He had to win six quality matches to win the championship and he played a fantastic tournament. To drop the first set in the final and then come back and play the way he did for the last two sets shows his determination and skill. He is such a great competitor. He’s never out of a match.”
Nov. 5 and 6, Sven competed in the 32-man ITA national event, where he played alongside the country’s top players.
In the opening round, Sven lost his match to seventh-seeded and 15th-ranked Bradley Klahn of Stanford University. Klahn, last year’s ITA National Rookie of the Year and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, was an All-Pac-10 first team selection and just the fourth player in Stanford history to claim both the Pac-10 singles and doubles championships in the same year. Klahn defeated Vloedgraven 6-2, 6-3 after a tight first set and a 3-3 tie in the second set.
“Sven played pretty good for his first national tournament — especially against a high-ranking opponent,” head coach Adam Cohen said in a press release.
In the consolation round on the Nov. 6, Vloedgraven was eliminated after a loss to Jordan Rux of Baylor University. Rux, the 27th-ranked player in the nation, defeated Vloedgraven 6-1, 6-2.
But Cohen was not discouraged by the final scores.
“At that level, it just takes a couple of bad shots or unforced errors to make all the difference,” he said. “He played a couple of loose points, and that ended up costing him the set. I feel he played better in the first match, but after no break points in the first match, he had break chances the second day, he just didn’t [break].”
Although the weekend’s losses may be tough to take for the junior, Vloedgraven has ensured himself BU’s highest-ever national ranking when the ITA next releases their rankings in January.
“This is a big deal for Sven, because he is one of the best players in the region and he belongs with these players at this event,” Cohen said. “And for BU to be there with all of the big schools that are perennial top-10 programs is pretty special.”
Even after an impressive fall season, Sven thinks his best play has yet to come, and has his eyes set on the spring season.
“This year is not any different than any other years,” he said. “For myself, winning the regionals is something I will never forget and it is a great start to the year, but our season is in the spring, so that’s when I want to play my best tennis.”