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As the saying goes, March goes in like a lion and comes out like a lamb.

Binghamton University’s women’s tennis team (11-2, 2-0 America East) simply does not believe in that mantra; they decided to be a lion for the entire month.

On Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29, the Bearcats scored wins over Stony Brook (6-2, 1-1 AE) and Villanova (1-12). With the two victories, the Bearcats capped off an undefeated March at 6-0, with five of the victories on the road.

“Our team’s close,” said Lauren Bates, a sophomore who has seen time at first and second singles this season. “We click together. No matter who is playing with who, we are all having fun and working well together.”

Binghamton defeated Stony Brook, 4-3 in dramatic fashion. The match got off to a tenuous start for the Bearcats when the Seawolves notched the doubles point for the early 1-0 lead. But Bates defeated Katherine Hanson, 6-1, 7-6 (5), while Jillian Santos steamrolled Paola Rodolfi, 6-1, 6-1, in the most lopsided affair of the day. With their wins, Bates (10-3) and Santos (11-2) have been impressive in dual matches this season, respectively.

Freshman Yagmur Gone secured the team’s third point with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) win over Salome Mkervalidze. She is now 8-4 in dual matches on the year. While Bates, Santos and Gone secured Binghamton’s first three points, the story of the day went to a freshman: Marina Bykovsyaka.

With her win at fourth singles, Bykovskaya clinched the dual against Stony Brook for Binghamton. At the rate she is going, the Bearcats should nickname her what the United States Davis Cup Team has previously called Andy Roddick: Closer.

Three times this year, against Army, Bucknell and now Stony Brook, the Bearcats have won a dual, 4-3. Bykovskaya won the clinching match with the score tied at three each time. Despite dropping the first set 6-2 and trailing 4-0 in the third set, Bykovskaya was able to prevail over Gayatri Krishnan of the Seawolves, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

“The match was very difficult, as I was down 4-0 in the third set,” said Bykovskaya. “But my teammates, coaches and friends believed in me, and I believed in myself. I switched to a more aggressive strategy in the third set, and with an adrenaline rush I won six games in a row. My team gives everything they have to win and I try my best to do the same.”

Binghamton’s 7-0 sweep of Villanova at home on March 29 was painless in comparison to the dual with Stony Brook, with the Bearcats dropping just one set. Bates and Santos had tough matches at first and second singles, with Bates defeating Carla Erskine, 7-6 (4), 7-5, and Santos needing three sets to beat Courtney Reed, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1. The rest of the lineup then cruised.

Sophomore Yulia Smirnova dispatched Allison Solberg, 6-4, 6-0, at third singles. Bykovskaya did not need as impressive a performance as she did against the Seawolves in promptly serving up two 6-0 sets against Lyndsey Lostritto. Gone then managed a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Emily Urda while junior Danyelle Shapiro rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Daniella Phillis. In doubles, Bates and Santos won 8-6 at the top spot, Bykovskaya and Gone earned an 8-5 victory in the second position, and Smirnova teamed with freshman Emma Liebowicz to win 8-0 at third doubles.

Binghamton now looks ahead to its spring break schedule, where they will face a strong Temple team that beat them 7-0 last year, a UMBC team it has faced in the semifinals of the past three America East Conference tournaments (going 2-1), and George Washington. The Bearcats hope to build on their strong month of March.

“Our recent results have helped us going into the biggest part of our season,” Bates said. “We want to keep the momentum going, keep working hard, and hopefully we will get the end results that we want.”