The Bearcats were swept in the NCAA tournament’s first round for the seventh time during that time span. The University of Mississippi, the No. 13-ranked host, defeated Binghamton 4-0. The Rebels also swept the Bearcats in the first round in 2004.

The doubles matches took the court first, and Ole Miss captured points at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. The junior duo of Ruben Devos and Bastian Bornkessel trailed 8-7 at No. 1 doubles, but couldn’t complete the match because the Rebels had already won at No. 2 and No. 3.

No other Bearcat tandem or individual came as close to defeating the opposition.

After the doubles matches were played outdoors, rain relegated the singles matches to the indoor Gillom Sports Center.

In his final appearance with the Bearcats, senior Alexandre Haggai lost at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles, where he was paired with freshman Ismael Dinia. The 2012 America East Player of the Year put up a decent fight against No. 14 Nik Scholtz, but he ultimately fell short (6-4, 6-3).

Devos also grabbed the first set from No. 20 Marcel Thiemann at No. 2 singles but dropped the following two (6-2, 6-2) to lose the match. Devos’ defeat clinched the win for the Rebels, who earned a Mother’s Day date with the University of Michigan.

Limited court space after the transition indoors prevented freshman Florian van Kann from playing. Though van Kann plays at No. 6 singles, he had won eight of his nine matches leading up to the NCAA tournament.

The Bearcats will look to return to the NCAA tournament in 2013, but they will do so without Haggai and three others.

Though the Bearcats (19-24, 10-7 America East) have lost five of their last six, the University of Maine helped them clinch a berth in the conference tournament by beating University of Hartford on Saturday.

Binghamton suffered a doubleheader sweep on Saturday by scores of 9-7 and 8-6. Senior Mike Augliera and redshirt-junior Jake Lambert did not have their best pitching outings, combining to allow 20 hits on the day.

In the opener, Augliera lasted only 4.1 innings and gave up nine runs on 13 hits. This was only the second time this season that Augliera was taken out of the game before the sixth inning.

The Great Danes scored two runs in both the second and third innings, followed by a run in the fourth and four in the fifth. The Bearcats scored a run in the both the second and third innings, but they still trailed by seven going into the fifth.

Binghamton began to fight back in the fifth, however. After a walk and a single put two men on base with two outs, senior left fielder Dave Ciocchi blasted a three run homer to center field to cut the Albany lead to four. Binghamton tacked on another run in each of the sixth and seven innings, but stranded four total runners in the sixth and the seventh to end the game and give Albany the win.

Ciocchi finished the game with four RBI, while freshman third baseman Brian Ruby went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Junior catcher Mike Danaher and freshman designated hitter Zach Blanden also contributed offensively, combining for three RBI.

Albany starting pitcher Zach Kraham picked up the win, throwing 5.1 innings and allowing six runs on six hits. He walked only four and struck out seven.

The Great Dane bats remained hot in the second game, scoring eight runs on 14 hits. After each team scored a run in the first inning, Albany tacked on another in each of the third, fifth, and sixth innings to take a 4-1 lead.

In the home frame of the sixth, however, the Bearcats battled back. After a walk and an error, Ruby fired an RBI single to right field to narrow the deficit to two. Another single loaded the bases for the Bearcats. After junior first baseman Jordan Smucker was hit by a pitch, two walks brought in two more runs, giving the Bearcats a 5-4 lead going into the seventh. Albany quickly countered however, scoring two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth.

Binghamton also scored a run off of three hits in the eighth, bringing the team to within one run of tying the game, but the Great Danes tacked on another run in the ninth to extend their lead and ultimately give them the win.

Lambert had allowed only two earned runs in his previous 31 innings before giving up four runs in six innings on Saturday. Freshman relief pitcher Anthony Grillini took the loss for the Bearcats allowing three runs on five hits.

Binghamton left 12 runners stranded on base throughout the game, while picking up 11 hits.

Sophomore second baseman Daniel Nevares and freshman right fielder Scott Hagan went 2-for-4 on the day and Ruby went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Ciocchi also contributed with an RBI, giving him a total of five on the day.

The Bearcats’ woes continued on Sunday, losing 4-1 and 9-8 to the Great Danes.

Binghamton never led the opener, falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first. Junior pitcher Jay Lynch surrendered all four runs through the first three innings, but he settled down to hold Albany hitless over the next three.

But Binghamton’s bats couldn’t battle back.

The second game was a totally different story, as neither team could hold a lead. After a back-and-forth seven innings, Binghamton led 8-6. But the Great Danes scored three runs in the eighth off freshman pitcher Mike Urbanski to win 9-8.

The Bearcats will conclude their season with a three-game set against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County beginning on Friday.

Van Ingen earned his third All-America nod this year after competing at the national championship in Boise, Idaho. But his reaction isn’t exactly what you’d expect.

“It’s definitely a great thing, but I’ve done that twice before. It’s expected of me,” he said. “When I talk about it, I know it comes off as whiny and bitchy. But when you’ve done something before the luster just isn’t there.”

Van Ingen placed seventh in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in March. Competing in the finals earned him his third All-America honor, but the disappointment still lingers.

“If I finished top three, I could have walked away with that,” he said. “I crossed the line and looked up at the scoreboard and remember just standing there and shaking my head. I was so frustrated. But I could tell without looking that it wasn’t a good race. It’s like in baseball when you hit the sweet spot. Well I didn’t hit mine and didn’t feel that rush and exhilaration.”

“There’s a linear progression. Qualifying for the NCAA championships, qualifying for the final, getting All-America, the next logical step after being crowned an All-American is to win a national title. But the difference between the two is so huge.”

Van Ingen never did win a national title. He posted a fifth-place finish (3.56.37) in the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games in February, edging out Tulsa University’s Chris O’Hare — the eventual national champion — by .26 seconds. But with his collegiate career now coming to a close, the opportunity has passed and now eyes are on the future.

“The further along you get in something the more difficult it becomes to improve at it. That’s kind of where I’m at,” he said. “But I plan on running for maybe 10 more years, as long as my body will continue to produce the results that I’d like.”

Van Ingen’s path to becoming a professional begins in Eugene, Ore. next month. After recording a winning time of 3:38.06 in the 1,500 at the Virginia Classic last Friday, van Ingen will compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials at the end of June.

About one month ago, the oh-so-noble institution that is the NCAA announced its plans for academic reform, set to be enacted in 2015. The reform has a few layers, but, essentially the main purpose is to heighten eligibility requirements.

This makes sense — athletes shouldn’t be held to standards that Brick Tamland could meet.

At the end of the day, college basketball programs still represent educational institutions. Their purpose is to field a team of “student-athletes.” Not ballers who couldn’t tell you the difference between ambidextrous and amphibious — yes, that has happened.

But by requiring prospective Division I athletes to maintain a 2.3 GPA — up from 2.0 — in 16 core high school courses, the NCAA has generated a slew of potential complications.

Most notably, the high schoolers need to be aware of the requirements. What if a kid doesn’t know he needs four years of high school English and that 10 of his 16 core courses must be completed by the start of his senior year? Even if this kid graduates with a 4.0 GPA, he won’t be eligible.

What about a kid who enters his freshman year of high school at 5 feet 6 inches only to grow a foot taller by his senior year? That kid would suddenly be a college recruit, but he probably wouldn’t have initially tried to pursue the eligibility requirements.

So what does this all have to do with the NBA?

Obviously not every high school basketball star will reach the NBA. Only 60 players get drafted each year.

However, each year, there are NBA-ready 18-year-olds attending college for one reason: They have to be 19 and one year out of high school to play in the NBA.

But what if some of those NBA-ready high schoolers aren’t eligible according to the new NCAA standards? Should they really be forced to wait a year to enter the draft?

Here’s a potentially controversial situation. John Smith is the No. 1 recruit in the senior class, and NBA scouts say he would be a top pick if he were eligible for this year’s draft. Only he’s 18 years old and has a 2.2 GPA.

Currently, Smith could play for an elite Division I school.

However, under future NCAA bylaws, he would need to attend a junior college, where he could waste a year mired in obscurity and risk losing draft stock. Or he could emulate Brandon Jennings and play professionally overseas until he is NBA-eligible.

Either way, he wouldn’t be in the NBA.

But why can’t he be?

Smith clearly isn’t smart enough to make a living on Wall Street, but he’s talented enough to earn millions of dollars each year as a teenager in the NBA. There’s no substantial reason for the NBA to shut its doors on the Smiths of the basketball world. (And, yes, you could argue the same even if he was academically eligible).

However, lowering the NBA age minimum is not without its complications — namely, prospects with unrefined skills prematurely entering the draft and, consequentially, forfeiting their collegiate eligibility. If those prospects don’t get drafted or simply wash out of the NBA after training camp, they cannot return to play college basketball.

But why can’t the NBA collaborate with the NCAA? Perhaps they could choose to keep the age minimum for all college-eligible players while allowing kids like Smith, who don’t meet the NCAA requirements, to enter the draft.

That proposal also isn’t without its flaws, but it’s at least worth consideration.

Just because a kid is as dumb as your average Waka Flocka song, the NBA shouldn’t deny him the opportunity of capitalizing on his talent.

The NBA was already under significant pressure from the National Basketball Players Association to lower its age minimum. And the pressure increased after Kentucky’s team of NBA-ready freshmen — OK, and two sophomores — went 38-2 and won the 2012 national championship. (I guarantee you Anthony Davis could have posted — at least — Samuel Dalembert in-his-prime numbers in the NBA this year).

At the end of the day, the NBA is a business. It won’t lower its age minimum if the costs of doing so outweigh the benefits of allowing those like Smith in its doors.

But the academic reform definitely adds some (unintended) pressure.

Binghamton swept Saturday’s doubleheader against Colgate University, and split a doubleheader at Niagara University a day later, but the University of Maine clinched the fourth and final play-off spot to knock the Bearcats (22-29, 7-11 America East) out of contention.

Maine needed just one win in its three-game set at University of Hartford, and wasted no time in getting the job done with a 5-1 victory in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

Entering the weekend, Binghamton head coach Michelle Burrell said she wanted her team to play hard despite knowing Maine needed just one win to eliminate the Bearcats from postseason contention. And following the results, she said she thought her team did just that.

“Overall, I thought we played really well together as a team,” she said. “We found out after the Saturday games that we didn’t make the [America East] tournament. I thought the girls just went out and played relaxed. We hit the ball well, and pitched well.”

The Bearcats used strong performances from sophomore second baseman Jessica Bump and freshman third baseman Linda Verduzco to sweep Colgate, 2-1 and 7-2. After going 1-for-3 in the opening game against the Raiders, Bump finished 3-for-3 in the second game and scored twice. Verduzco drove in four runs in the second game.

With the pair of victories, the Bearcats completed their home season with a 14-3 record, the team’s best since transitioning to Division I.

On Sunday, the Bearcats dropped the opener to Niagara, 1-0. Each team had only three hits, and the Purple Eagles scored the game’s only run on a first-inning wild pitch. Niagara sophomore Kim Bryson, who tossed a three-hit shutout, struck out five batters and did not issue a walk.

Down 2-0 in the night cap, BU bounced back to take the game 5-2. Back-to-back doubles by sophomore first baseman Mikala King and Bump put the Bearcats on the board in the second inning, and a third-inning single by freshman Caitlyn Friis put Binghamton ahead for good.

Bump recorded another RBI in the top of the fifth inning, and King secured the victory when she singled home junior outfielder Jessica Phillips to give the Bearcats a 5-2 lead.

Burrell said that she was pleased to see her team display a vintage team effort in both the weekend series.

“Bump had a really good weekend and also a good week,” she said. “Mikala [King] had a good week, Linda Verduzco played well too. But I thought the team had a little bit of help from everybody and that’s what we’ve been looking for.”

Bump, who went 13-for-25 with three home runs last week, earned America East Player of the Week honors.

With six wins in their last eight games, the Bearcats’ end-of-season form was a stark contrast to their overall conference and regular season records, which were both under .500, and left them out of the America East tournament.

“I don’t think our records for both the season and conference series tell the whole story,” Burrell said. “Because there were some games where we played well but didn’t win, where just one pitch or not giving up one hit would have changed everything.”

Burrell did admit that while the Bearcats’ recent level of play is encouraging for next season, the team must improve under pressure to be successful in the long run.

“I think the tough part is that in conference games or important games, we played really tight,” she said. “Quite a number of times we were ahead and we ended up giving away games. I think the team needs to learn to perform better under pressure. And especially because we made it into the conference tournament for the first time last year, the expectations were high coming in. We’ve got to learn to deal with that because we will probably be doing that year after year now.”

The Seawolves, who have won 12 of their last 13 games, continue to dominate the division.

Head coach Tim Sinicki was unhappy with the losses, but noted that the Bearcats (19-20, 10-5 AE) have hung close with the Seawolves (36-11, 14-3 AE), who took the season series 4-2.

“They have, at least statistically speaking, the best pitching staff in the conference,” Sinicki said. “But if you look at the games we played against them, of the four losses we have, one was in extra innings, and one was a 3-0 loss. When you look at the overall scope … I think we’re very comparable and probably very similar to them.”

While this may be true, the Bearcats have to first solve some offensive issues. Binghamton struggled to get anything started Saturday, leaving seven men stranded on base and dropping the opener 3-0. Tyler Johnson, the starting pitcher for the Seawolves, scattered six Bearcat hits over four innings. Senior left fielder Dave Ciocchi led Binghamton with two singles in Saturday’s first game, but no other Bearcat recorded more than one hit.

“We just didn’t swing the bats well enough to win a series,” Sinicki said. “Offensively, we just didn’t get it going. We played 25 innings of baseball this weekend, and we only scored in one inning.”

Senior pitcher Mike Augliera struggled against the Seawolves as well, surrendering three runs on nine hits through seven innings.

Binghamton’s luck improved in the nightcap, as the Bearcats snagged their only win of the weekend, 3-1. Junior pitcher Jake Lambert is largely responsible for the victory, as he smothered the Seawolves’ offense, pitching seven shutout innings. Lambert allowed just four hits, and improved his ERA against America East opponents to 1.00.

The Bearcats’ offense awoke in the fifth inning to score three runs on as many hits. With one run already in, sophomore center fielder Bill Bereszniewicz’s two-out, two-run single down the first base side gave Binghamton a 3-0 lead. The pitching staff held the lead for the rest of the game, as junior closer Lee Sosa gave up one run in the ninth before striking out Stony Brook’s last batter to preserve a 3-1 Bearcat victory.

While Saturday’s games were close, Sunday’s game was a disaster for BU. The Seawolves were unstoppable, notching 13 hits to Binghamton’s three and outscoring the Bearcats 8-0. The Bearcats had no answer to the Seawolves, as they were limited to one hit throughout the first eight innings.

As Sinicki stated, the offense simply wasn’t up to par this weekend, but he also expressed confidence in his team’s ability to compete in the programs’ next potential meeting.

“If we face them again in a conference tournament, I think it’ll be an opportunity for us to exact a little bit of revenge,” he said. “And I think we’re capable of doing that.”

Binghamton moves on to face the University at Albany (16-28-1, 10-7 AE) for the first time this upcoming weekend. Importantly, the Bearcats need just one more win to clinch the program’s sixth straight tournament spot.

According to coach Sinicki, Binghamton and Albany have a competitive history that should make the upcoming weekend games interesting.

“It’s an old SUNY rivalry, which dates back to the Division III days,” he said. “I think both programs are competitive every year, and have a lot of respect for each other. Any time we get together with them, it’s always a good series.”

First pitch is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Albany’s Varsity Field.

Although the men were missing several key athletes due to injuries, they found themselves in the lead at the end of the first day with 66 points. But their 147 points at the championship’s conclusion fell 34 shy of University at Albany’s 181. Boston University trailed Binghamton with a score of 145.5.

Albany’s women’s team also finished first, giving the Great Danes their fourth-consecutive sweep of the event.

By the end of the meet, 11 Bearcats garnered all-conference honors, which were earned by placing in the top three of their event or by being a member of a top-three relay team. Fifth-year seniors Erik van Ingen and Adam Quinn, seniors Jesse McCormick, Jesse Fuca, Robb Quiller, Chris Veney and Eric VanAernam, sophomore Chris Fernandez, and freshmen Jesse Garn, Pat Heikkila and Cal Michaels all took home the honors.

Head coach Michael Thompson and assistant coaches Annette Acuff, Natilee Dawkins and Gabe Fletcher were named the America East Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year. The staff was also honored with this title during the 2011 indoor season.

The men’s team’s strongest performances of the weekend came in pole vault, the 3000m Steeplechase and the 10,000. Four Binghamton pole vaulters placed in the top six and three athletes took spots in the top six in the 3000m Steeplechase. Binghamton had three men place in the top seven of the 10,000, including junior Vasili Papastrat, who took fourth with a time of 30:59.70 and qualified for the IC4A meet next weekend.

In addition to Papastrat, four other Bearcats qualified for the IC4A meet, which will begin this upcoming Friday at Princeton University. Quiller, who placed second in pole vault with a height of 16-2 3/4 feet, and VanAernam, who took third, cleared the qualifying height of 15-9 feet. In the 3000m Steeplechase, Quinn and Michaels broke the qualifying time of 9:15:00.

The Binghamton men claimed two individual titles and a relay title. Van Ingen took first in the 800 with a time of 1:50.50, and the 4×800 relay team consisting of van Ingen, Garn, Fernandez and McCormick also won first place with a time of 7:36.61. This is the third year that Binghamton has taken the title in the 4×800 race. Fuca also earned a first-place finish, completing the 110 hurdles in 14.51.

By the end of the second day another group of five more athletes made the cut for the IC4A meet coming up this weekend. Fuca, van Ingen, Garn, Heikkila and junior Casey Gilbert all qualified.

The ECAC/IC4A is scheduled for May 11-13 at Princeton University.

The women’s team had its highest finish ever at the America East Outdoor Championships and its best performance since coming in third at the 2002 indoor conference championship.

Hennig, who has won the past three conference indoor titles in the 400, finally got her chance at the first outdoor title in the same event. She slipped by defending conference outdoor champion Allison Rogers of the University at Albany to win in a school-record time of 54.47. She broke her own previous mark of 54.87 set in 2010.

Sullivan, meanwhile, topped off a banner year with her first America East Conference title. She captured the 100 hurdles in a school-record time of 13.96. In doing so, she became the first Binghamton runner to break 14 seconds in the event. She broke her own school record of 14.02 that she had set earlier this season. Sullivan also placed fifth later in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:02.43.

The women’s most impressive event of the weekend was the triple jump, in which Binghamton won five of the top eight places. Sophomore Alexis Murray led the way with a second-place finish (38-7 ½) and fellow sophomore Paige Ware followed closely in third (38-2 ½). Senior Nandi Dozier-Lewis (fifth, 38-0), freshman Alexx Baum (sixth, 37-5 1/4) and sophomore Sara Wickes (eighth, 36-6 1/4) also contributed solid performances.

Hennig, Sullivan and sophomores Erika Kisel and Kathleen Klein locked up third place in the meet for the Bearcats with a runner-up effort in the final event of the meet, the 4×400 relay (3:47.24). Earlier in the meet, Kisel placed sixth in the 400 (57.15).

Junior Ashley AuPont placed third in the high jump (5-5 ½) and eighth in the 100 hurdles (15.19).

Binghamton will head next to Princeton from May 11-13 for the ECAC/IC4A.

The Bearcats (19-28, 7-11 America East) have completed their conference slate, but it is still undetermined whether or not they’ll make the playoffs. The University of Maine needs to win just once during its three-game set against University of Hartford this weekend to clinch the fourth and final America East tournament berth. If the lowly Hawks (9-39, 3-12 AE) sweep the Black Bears (15-27, 6-8-1 AE), Binghamton will sneak into the postseason.

But because the Bearcats cannot do anything to improve their standing, head coach Michelle Burrell said her team has taken a load of pressure off itself.

“We’re just going out one game at a time, kind of like we have been, but I do think overall the team has been more relaxed, especially at the plate,” she said.

And the results of a more relaxed approach were evident this week.

The Bearcats outscored the Bonnies by a combined 8-1 score over Tuesday’s two games, taking the first contest 4-1. In the opener, Binghamton strung together a couple of hits in the third and fifth innings to take a 2-0 lead, and a pair of sixth-inning solo home runs from sophomores Jessica Bump and Chelsey Locatell gave fellow sophomore Demi Laney a four-run cushion entering the final frame.

Laney had allowed just two hits through the first six innings, but she surrendered a solo home run and a benign single in the seventh. Regardless, the Bearcats prevailed.

Despite committing three errors in the second game, Binghamton did not allow a run. Junior Jessica Phillips got the Bearcats on the board with a fourth-inning solo shot, her 11th home run of the season, and Binghamton used doubles by Locatell and sophomore Lisa Cutrona to tack on three more runs.

The solid pitching effort persisted, as juniors Kate Price and Rhoda Marsteller combined for seven strikeouts and a four-hit shutout in the 4-0 win.

Even though Binghamton committed five errors against the Bonnies, the defense cracked down when needed.

“Overall, our defense is playing behind our pitching better than it was earlier on in the season,” Burrell said.

In the opener against Cornell, Binghamton came out strong, scoring three runs in the first. Sophomore Mikala King delivered an RBI single and Bump hit a two-run triple.

But the Big Red pushed two runs across in the third and two more in the sixth to win 4-3. The Bearcats did have opportunities to add runs in the third and fourth innings, but Bump and freshman Caytlin Friis each lined into inning-ending double plays with runners in scoring position.

“We just had a couple of things that didn’t really go our way,” Burrell said.

But the Bearcats came out strong in the second game, scoring five runs on seven hits and using solid pitching performances by Marsteller and Price to win 5-1.

Binghamton scored four of its runs on solo home runs. King and Friis each hit one, and Bump delivered two. On the week, Bump went 6-for-12 with three home runs and a triple.

“[Bump has] been aggressive early on in her at-bats and has gone after some good pitches,” Burrell said. “She’s come up with some clutch hits for us, especially later in the game to add some extra runs so we don’t have as much pressure on us in the sixth and seventh innings.”

Two more non-conference doubleheaders remain on the Bearcats’ regular season schedule. They are set to host Colgate University in a rescheduled affair on Saturday before finishing the season at Niagara University on Sunday.

Burrell said her team understands it still has an outside chance at a postseason berth.

“Because we do have a slight chance to make [the conference tournament], we’re going to make sure we’re still playing and that we’re ready in case that does happen,” she said.

First pitch against the Raiders is scheduled for noon.

On Wednesday, Haiishen McIntyre, Harrisburg High School star guard and one of Binghamton’s top potential recruits for the 2012-13 season, cancelled a press conference announcing his decision to sign his letter of intent with the University.

Harrisburg athletic director Kirk Smallwood said the decision had everything to do with Macon’s dismissal.

“You want to play for the guy who recruited you,” Smallwood said. “If you sign and then [they] bring in a new guy that you don’t know and he has a new style, I mean that’s not a good situation.”

Binghamton athletic director Patrick Elliott told Pipe Dream in an email that NCAA regulations prohibit the University’s athletic department from commenting on “any prospective student-athlete, prior to them signing a National Letter of Intent (NLI).”

Smallwood said that McIntyre will still consider playing at Binghamton, but much of his decision will have to do with who is chosen as Macon’s replacement. In the meantime, Smallwood said, the 6-foot-2-inch standout has begun to look at other schools.

“He has to,” Smallwood said. “He wants to go to school, he wants to play, so that’s where we are.”

According to Smallwood, however, McIntyre has already sent Binghamton his letter of intent and is now waiting to hear from the University’s athletic department.

“I know he signed his letter of intent and sent it in. What Binghamton does, I don’t know the logistics on their end,” he said.

But at the April 30 press conference announcing Macon’s dismissal, Elliott said that while several prospective student-athletes have shown interest, the University had not yet received any signed National Letters of Intent.

David Eagan, Binghamton’s associate director of athletics for compliance, said that the University — which in accordance with NCAA guidelines initiates the signing process — never sent McIntyre an NLI, and he therefore could not have sent one back.

“I would know first-hand if a letter went out and we definitely did not draft a letter for [McIntyre],” Eagan said.

McIntyre would have been the most prized recruit of the Macon era. He set the Harrisburg single-season records in scoring average (24.2 points per game) and points scored (634), finishing his career with 1,200 total points, sixth on Harrisburg’s all-time scoring list. The senior was named District III Most Outstanding Player and earned first team all-state. His season came to an early end last year after injuring his right knee.

The NCAA spring deadline for signing a National Letter of Intent is May 16.

On the men’s side, senior Ben Waldron was selected to the first-team for the second consecutive year. The defender led the Bearcats in ground balls (51) and caused turnovers (31). Sophomore Michael Antinozzi was also a first-team all-conference selection. In his historic sophomore campaign, Antinozzi led Binghamton University in scoring with a program single-season record 32 goals.

Sophomore Greg Cove was named to second-team all-conference. He started on defense in all 13 games this season and tallied 12 caused turnovers and 23 ground balls. Freshman J.T. Hauck lived up to the hype that he generated in his debut season, earning an all-rookie selection after recording 15 goals and 14 assists.

Seniors Jeff Donigan and Ryan Button earned all-academic honors.

Meanwhile, on the women’s side, two Bearcats were honored by the conference. Freshman midfielder Renee Kiviat was named to the All-Rookie team. She was third on the team with 32 draw controls, and she also tallied nine goals and three assists. Junior Katherine Hunsberger, a two-time America East Honor Roll nominee, earned all-academic honors.

This year marked the first time in the America Sky’s four-year history that a championship tournament was held for the conference’s 12 teams. Sacramento State took first place and the NCAA Championship bid after leading the entire tournament and finishing with a 54-hole total of 878 (+14).

Binghamton head coach Bernie Herceg acknowledged that the tournament’s heightened stakes of a possible NCAA Championship berth likely added a certain amount of pressure.

“I know it’s in the back of your mind when you’re playing,” Herceg said. “It’s great that we have this opportunity going forth, it’s a shame that we weren’t able to take advantage of it this past weekend.”

Sitting in fourth place at the end of Day 1, Binghamton slid down to ninth place after the second day and stuck there, finishing with an overall score of 968.

“Overall, I was a little bit disappointed in how we finished up in the event,” Herceg said. “I thought we were prepared and ready to really compete against the top teams … and we just didn’t perform as well as we could have … I know the guys were discouraged, and it’s something that we will learn from and improve on going into next season.”

Senior Trevor Fiedler led Binghamton to a top-five standing the first day with his opening round performance of 75 (+3). Fiedler recorded seven pars and was tied for seventh place individually at the end of day one.

“Trevor had a great first round to keep us where if we had a good second we could’ve maybe got back into the thick of things,” Herceg said.

The Bearcats combined to shoot a 313 (+25) in the opening round, and senior Mike Surdey finished the day a stroke behind Fiedler at 76 (+4).

Following a 315 performance on Day 2, however, Binghamton slipped five spots in the standings to ninth place. Sophomore Bryce Edmister bounced back from an opening day score of 80 to collect seven bogeys, seven pars and four birdies and finish with a team-best 75 (+3) in the second round.

Surdey continued to roll with a team-high 11 pars and a second day score of 77 (+5).

“Mike Surdey was probably our most consistent [player] the first two days,” Herceg said. “He really played well. He’s a senior this year so it was good to see him play good.”

On the final day of the tournament, windy and rainy conditions led the Bearcats to produce their highest score of the tournament and prevented them from gaining any ground in the standings.

Herceg acknowledged the negative effect the harsh conditions had on his team’s performance in round three, but added that the weather was no excuse for the team’s sub-par performances the first two days.

“Day three, the weather was horrendous and terrible and the higher scores out of all the teams reflected that,” Herceg said. “But the first two days we really should’ve played better than we did and scored better.”

Despite scoring an 85 in the final round, Surdey finished in 20th place individually with an overall score of 238 (+22). It was his second top-20 finish of the season and the sixth of his career.

Edmister recorded BU’s second-best finish of the tournament with a three-day score of 242, tying him for 32nd place.

After a solid start and an opening round top-10 standing, Fiedler finished 35th overall in the tournament, third best on the team.

The Bearcats will lose captains Surdey and Fiedler, as well as senior Steve Armstrong, when they graduate at the end of the semester.

Herceg said the vast experience of Surdey and Fiedler will be especially missed.

“They’re very good players, and both our captains and it will be tough spots to fill,” he said. “But right now we have three incoming — we have two freshmen coming in and a transfer coming in that we’re really excited about. And I’m looking forward to next season and the possibilities of, [being] a little bit more on the younger side … and developing into a very strong team in our conference.”

Binghamton closes the season with the lowest team scoring average in the program’s history at 298.9.

Entering the meet, head coach Mike Thompson said both teams are formidable on paper. The men’s team has suffered a few injuries, but has overcome those obstacles, according to Thompson.

“The men have handled the adversity well,” he said.

Thompson, whose men’s team has finished in second the past two years, hopes this year’s squad will walk away with a top-three finish. In order to make that a reality, the Bearcats will need to excel in their strongest events: distance running and pole-vault.

The women’s team will look to keep its successful regular season going this weekend.

“The women’s team has had an exceptional year,” Thompson said. “Possibly the best year from a total team perspective since I have been at Binghamton.”

The women have struggled in years past, placing sixth last year at the American East Outdoor Championship. This year, Thompson said that he hopes they will place in the top four.

The women’s team has been strong in jumping events as well as sprinting, and has done well across the board this season.

The two-day meet is set to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Binghamton (18-18, 9-3 AE) dropped two of three games to the Seawolves (34-10, 12-2 AE) when the teams met in early April. The Bearcats enter the rematch riding the momentum of a three-win weekend over the University of Hartford.

Freshman third baseman Brian Ruby leads the Bearcats with a .362 batting average. In 69 at bats, Ruby has 25 hits and has driven in nine runs. Senior left fielder Dave Ciocchi has also been an offensive powerhouse for Binghamton as of late. During last weekend’s series at Hartford, Ciocchi went 3-for-7 with four RBIs and a three-run home run. He has two home runs on the season and leads the team in RBIs with 23.

Binghamton aces Mike Augliera and Jake Lambert will also be looking to improve their records this weekend. Augliera (4-5) has a 2.35 ERA and has struck out 64 batters through 57.1 innings, while Lambert (5-3) has struck out 24 through 54.2 innings of play and has posted an ERA of 3.46. Augliera ranks third in the America East in ERA and leads the league in strikeouts.

Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki said that the Bearcats are looking forward to the weekend series against conference leader Stony Brook.

“We’ve had a really good week of practice and our guys are excited about the opportunity to compete against the top team in the league,” Sinicki said.

The Seawolves have won 20 of their last 22 games and are riding a 10-game win streak. They are coming off a three-game sweep of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in which junior William Carmona went 5-for-6 with four RBIs. Carmona, who leads the Seawolves with eight home runs and 46 RBIs, has a total of 19 extra base hits and a .373 batting average on the season. In his seven attempts this season, he has never been caught stealing.

Stony Brook junior Travis Jankowski leads the conference with a .390 average. He has a total of 13 doubles and nine triples on the season and is 29-33 in stolen bases.

Seawolves starting pitchers Tyler Johnson and Brandon McNitt will also be forces to contend with. In eight starts, Johnson is 6-1 with a league-best 1.72 ERA. He has thrown three complete games and allowed 45 hits through 52.1 innings. McNitt also boasts a 6-1 record and has allowed 56 hits through 63.2 innings. He retains an ERA of 1.98 on the season and has struck out 41 batters.

This three-game series was intended to be a home set for the Bearcats, but due to the renovations of the field at Binghamton University, the team will have to play Stony Brook on the road, although the Bearcats will remain the designated home team in this series.

Although the season-long renovations present a frustrating situation, Sinicki continues to remain positive.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to travel to them again, but that’s the hand we’ve been dealt this season,” he said. “We’ll make no excuses and expect nobody to feel sorry for us. Our plan is to go down and get after them.”

The Bearcats are set to play a doubleheader on Saturday followed by the rubber match scheduled for Sunday. The first game is set for noon on Saturday at Joe Nathan Field.

On the biggest stage college tennis has to offer, the Binghamton University men’s tennis team is set to take on the University of Mississippi in the first round of the NCAA Championship on May 13. The hosting Rebels are ranked No. 13 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rankings.

The Bearcats (15-11) gathered in the TAU Room of the Events Center on Tuesday to watch the online unveiling of the 64-team national tournament.

Binghamton beat the University of Maryland, Baltimore County last weekend to earn its fifth consecutive America East Championship title and automatic berth to the NCAA Championship. It was the Bearcats’ eighth America East title in the last 10 years.

With six consecutive wins to end their regular season and two wins in America East tournament play, the Bearcats are headed into their matchup with a lot of momentum.

Ole Miss (13-8), meanwhile, advanced to the SEC seminfinals with conference tournament wins over University of Arkansas and University of Florida. They’ve reached the NCAA Championship 18 of the last 19 years.

“They’re a very good team,” Binghamton head coach Adam Cohen said. “They have two doubles teams ranked in the top 20. They both made it into the individual doubles tournament. And [they have] three singles players, if not four, ranked inside the top 100. So they will be tough competition for our guys.”

Cohen said that Binghamton’s challenging regular season schedule, which included three nationally ranked opponents, has helped to prepare the squad for the level of play it’s set to face next weekend.

“I think it’s helpful,” Cohen said. “Unfortunately we’ve lost a lot of these matches to ranked teams last year. Some close, some not so close. I just think playing a good schedule is beneficial for the development of our players. So at least we’ve played teams that are at similar levels to the teams we’ll face in the tournament. I think our guys know that if we play hard and smart and compete that we’re going to make it a competitive match.”

Binghamton senior Alexandre Haggai, the Most Outstanding Player at the conference championships, will anchor the Bearcats lineup from No. 1 singles. Juniors Ruben Devos and Bastian Bornkessel comprise Binghamton’s top doubles tandem. Freshmen Ismael Dinia (No. 3), Robin Lesage (No. 4), Florian van Kann (No. 6) and sophomore Ruben Haggai (No. 5) will round out Binghamton’s lineup.

“We’re certainly going to be playing the best team we’ve faced all year in Mississippi and they’re a confident group as well,” Cohen said. “We just have to go down there and not be intimidated by their facilities or the number in front of their name. We just need to play smart tennis and not be overwhelmed. We’re going to continue to practice and train hard and give it our best shot when we play next week. “

Middle Tennessee State University (19-7) is scheduled play University of Michigan (16-6) at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 12, to be followed by the BU-Ole Miss matchup at noon. The two winners are slated to converge at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 13.

The Kanes live in Binghamton, so Shannon’s decision to play softball at BU presented a rare opportunity for the family of an elite college athlete.

“Shannon’s 86-year-old grandfather and I are regulars at all of her home games,” her father said. “Most parents at the Division I level, if they can get to one or two games they’ve done well. I get to see her play in 15 or 20 games.”

But for Binghamton’s softball team, the Kanes aren’t the only family close enough to do so. Four other Bearcats — Briana Andrews, Meghan Tucker, Mikala King and Jessica Bump — grew up locally, and their families are also regulars at the East Gym Field.

A HOMEGROWN TEAM

In 2008, Briana Andrews, a native of Endicott and graduate of Union Endicott High School, was the only local on Binghamton’s softball team. After a solid high school career, Andrews sought to play for a Division I program, and found a fit right in her backyard.

“I thought that was the cool part,” Andrews said. “I’m staying local, but it’s still a good program where everyone is from places like California and Arizona.”

But by choosing BU, Andrews brought local attention to the Bearcats’ softball program and, in turn, started a trend among local players.

Meghan Tucker, a Kirkwood native, joined the team a year later. Kane followed, and last year, Mikala King and Jessica Bump, from Binghamton and Windsor, respectively, debuted for the Bearcats.

Tucker, who used to attend softball camps run by former BU coach Holly Brown, knew from the beginning that she wanted to play softball at Binghamton.

“Growing up, I knew I wanted to come to Binghamton,” Tucker said. “I really liked the accounting program, and I actually didn’t look at many other schools.”

Kane, King and Bump didn’t consider BU from the get-go — each stressed a desire to be independent at college — but all knew that the opportunity to regularly play for their biggest fans was too rare to pass on and ultimately chose to commit.

RIVALS REVERSED

It’s not uncommon for a pair of collegiate teammates to have played against each other in high school, but this team stands as an outlier.

King and Kane, both of Chenango Valley High School, became archrivals with Windsor High School’s Bump and Tucker. Andrews also played against them, as Union Endicott played against Chenango Valley and Windsor about once per season.

Chenango Valley and Windsor have one of the longest-standing softball rivalries in New York, frequently meeting in the Section 4 regional championship for a spot in the state final. Each duo won one Section 4 championship — both times at the expense of the other.

Bump characterized it as a “fun rivalry,” however, because they swapped teammates during summer travel ball. She and King — who played travel basketball together when they were 10 years old — became a summer pair while Tucker and Kane played together.

A LOCAL FAN BASE

Because of their prominence in high school and their decision to stay local, the players attract residents from the area to home games. Andrews attests to the fact that as more local players joined her, more natives came to support the Bearcats at home.

Bump relayed a story her mother told her about local interest in the team.

“[One] game when we were on the field warming up, there were these two older gentlemen sitting behind [my mother],” Bump said. “She didn’t know who they were, but the whole time they were saying, like, ‘Oh, that’s that Tucker girl from Windsor; oh, that’s that King girl from Chenango Valley.’ They know of everyone just because of what you did in high school.”

But the fan base isn’t coming from just one demographic. Kane and King coach an Under-12 softball team, and Andrews coaches an Under-18 squad. Their players, along with their high schools’ teams and coaches, also frequently attend games.

And their fans’ loyalty doesn’t go unrewarded. The East Gym Field is just as far from Chenango Valley, for example, as Chenango Valley is from the East Gym Field, and the players continue to make their presence felt at their former high schools.

“For us to go back and help them out at practice or even just watch one of their games, it’s cool for them to see players that not only stayed local but made it to the Division I level come back and know you were on the same playing field with them,” King said.

All five players understand that they serve as role models — proof that local softball players can reach the Division I level — but that fact is evident to parents as well.

“When girls in high school see that you can make it playing on Section 4 teams and you can play at a Division I level, it’s encouraging to them, it’s encouraging to their parents,” Kane’s father said.

STILL A FAMILY AFFAIR

For Terrence Kane, the opportunity to watch and help his daughter throughout her college career has provided him several indelible memories, the most prominent of which occurred in fall 2010.

Shannon, a right-handed hitter all her life, thought she would get more playing time if she could become ambidextrous at the plate. Throughout the summer of 2010, he met her in the West Gym batting cages during his lunch breaks, tossing pitches to help Shannon get acclimated to the other side of the batter’s box.

“No one knew how hard she worked,” he said. “That first day when she was playing fall ball, she drove a line drive — left-handed — to the wall, and got a single out of it and looked back at me knowing we had done it. That was a lot of fun.”

If Kane had attended St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, N.Y., her No. 2 option, that moment never would have happened.

And that picture of a left-handed-swinging Kane, which serves as a reminder of that summer’s hard work, would have an entirely different meaning.

The top-seeded Bearcats captured their fifth consecutive title at the America East Championship in Flushing, N.Y. with a 4-1 victory over University of Maryland, Baltimore County in the finals. Head coach Adam Cohen has been at the helm for each of those titles and insisted, to no surprise, that winning never gets old.

“Every one is special in its own way,” he said. “This weekend was a complete team effort.”

On Saturday, Binghamton (15-11) defeated Boston University in the semifinals by a score of 4-0.

Juniors Ruben Devos and Bastian Bornkessel won at No. 1 doubles, 8-1, and senior Alexandre Haggai and freshman Ismael Dinia earned an 8-4 win at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point for Binghamton.

Dating back to the end of the regular season, the Bearcats have now won the doubles point in eight consecutive matches.

“It means a lot,” Cohen said about the doubles point. “I mean it’s only one out of a possible seven total points, but it’s a big deal when you go into singles up 1-0. Everybody knows you just need to get three more points to get to four and win the match rather than having to win four out of six singles matches. So when you have a lot at stake, that means a lot.”

Sophomore Ruben Haggai won 12 consecutive games at No. 5 singles in his 6-0, 6-0 victory, giving the Bearcats a 2-0 lead. Older brother Alexandre Haggai then improved Binghamton’s cushion with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph at No. 1 singles, before freshman Florian van Kann clinched the match for the Bearcats with a 6-0, 6-3 victory at No. 6.

In the 4-1 victory in the finals against UMBC, it was more of the same from Binghamton.

Alexandre Haggai won both his singles and doubles match en route to being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. The tandem of Haggai and Dinia proved too much for UMBC’s duo at No. 2 doubles, winning 8-0. Haggai then gave Binghamton its first singles point with a convincing 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 1.

Devos and Bornkessel got the job done at No. 1 doubles again, this time slipping by their opponents with a 9-8 (7-4) win to capture the doubles point for Binghamton.

With a two-point advantage, van Kann won his singles match at No. 6 singles in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0, to increase the Bearcats’ lead to 3-0. The Retrievers would get a victory at No. 4, but Dinia’s 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 3 secured the title for Binghamton.

This will mark the eighth time Binghamton advances to the NCAA tournament in the last 10 years, and Cohen is excited for the next challenge that awaits his team.

The Bearcats will learn their NCAA Regional site and opponent at 5:30 p.m. today as the 64-team national tournament will be unveiled online.

“We’re excited to play in the NCAAs,” he said. “It’s great to be on top and representing the conference in the [NCAA] tournament. We’ll continue to try and do the best we can against whoever we play.”

Cohen also noted that the success of the team’s younger players in the tournament is a sign of good things to come for the future of Binghamton tennis.

“This [championship team had] three freshmen and a sophomore in the lineup after losing the guys we lost over the previous four years, so we’re a relatively young team,” he said. “It was nice to see these young guys step up and play well. These guys are more or less going to be the future.”

“I thought we started out playing really well,” Binghamton head coach Michelle Burrell said after the Bearcats split a doubleheader with the Seawolves (32-13-1, 11-2-1 AE) to open the series. “We played pretty good ball on Saturday. The loss on Saturday was a tough one. I thought we did what we could do, but now we are in a tough position. It is what it is right now.”

The Bearcats came out firing in the first game. Sophomore pitcher Demi Laney, who tossed her second shutout this season, struck out seven batters and did not issue a walk. Stony Brook pitcher Allison Curkov surrendered an infield single to senior outfielder Meghan Tucker in the fourth, and after senior designated hitter Chelsea Horne drew a two-out walk, sophomore second baseman Jessica Bump drilled a three-run home run. Her roundtripper proved to be the difference, as BU closed out the game 3-0.

“We came out fighting,” Burrell said. “Our defense and the pitching were terrific, and Demi just did a great job there. We just got that one key hit, which is what we have been looking for all season, so it was nice to see that come together.”

The Bearcats took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the second game, but the Seawolves used a controversial call at first base and a throwing error by freshman shortstop Caytlin Friis to take a 2-1 lead in the third. Burrell argued with the umpire after the call.

“I think the umpire missed the call at first base,” she said. “And then he thought [first baseman Mikala King] had bobbled the ball, and that’s the reason the runner was [safe]. I didn’t see [King] making any sort of bobbles at all. So I was just questioning that call.”

Neither team would score again, and Stony Brook garnered the split, 2-1.

On Sunday, Stony Brook’s Shayla Giosa delivered a back-breaking, two-out grand slam to put the Seawolves ahead 7-0 in the sixth inning. BU began mounting a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with one out and plating two runs. But it was too little, too late as the Bearcats fell 7-2.

After playing their last America East series of the regular season, the Bearcats now sit behind fourth-place Maine in the standings. The Black Bears, who play a single game with Boston University before a three-game series with University of Hartford, need just one win to clinch the final berth.

“Maine [is] in a really good position now, since they only need one more win,” she said. “At this point, I don’t think it is likely that we will get into the tournament.”

With the regular season coming to a close, Burrell couldn’t help but look back at certain conference games with regret, especially the series with Maine.

“There were some games that we’d like to have back during the season,” she said. “When we were on the road at both Albany and Maine, I don’t think we played the kind of ball we could. When you lose all three in a series, it really hurts you, especially at Maine when we were fighting with them for that fourth spot.”

Prior to the doubleheader on Saturday, seniors Horne, Tucker, Kristen Emerling and Briana Andrews were honored as they competed in the final home series of their careers. While Burrell looks forward to a new generation of players for next season, she admits that the graduating seniors will be missed by the team.

“We’ve got six freshmen committed to coming in next year at this time,” she said. “We are definitely looking forward to the class that is coming in. There are a couple of key positions where they can really help us. But we are definitely going to miss our seniors. They were players that were here prior to me. And they were very instrumental helping the turnaround of the program when I first got here [in 2010].”

The Bearcats are scheduled to host St. Bonaventure University today in a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.

Despite entering Saturday as the conference leader, Boston University (11-5, 6-0 AE) could not shake off the determined Bearcats (3-13, 0-6 AE), who were thirsty for their first conference win of the year. Binghamton came out of the gates strong, jumping out to a 4-3 lead halfway through the first period.

“We had talked all week about being aggressive and playing as a team,” Binghamton head coach Tony Zostant said of his team’s performance. “We focused on winning the game for the seniors, and also to get an upset.”

The early lead for the Bearcats would quickly dwindle, however, as the Terriers scored the next three goals in a 39-second spurt. The three goals were part of a 5-0 run that put Boston up 8-4 in the middle of the first half. Binghamton answered with a 5-0 run of its own to take the lead at 9-8 with 3:16 to go in the period, but the Terriers, not to be outdone, would close the half with a 3-0 run to capture an 11-9 advantage going into the half.

The second half would prove to be a back-and-forth battle, as Binghamton refused to go quietly. Outplaying the Terriers for most of the half, Binghamton held multiple leads late in the game, its last one coming off the stick of junior Katherine Hunsberger to put BU ahead 14-13 with 14:48 left in the match. From there, Boston’s draw control wins, which not only allowed for better offensive chances for the Terriers but also kept possession away from Binghamton, were the difference in the game.

Boston University scored four unanswered goals late to stretch the lead to 17-14. A goal by Binghamton junior Kimberly McGeever pulled the Bearcats within two goals with 1:32 left, but the following draw control loss by the Bearcats allowed the Terriers to play keep-away and preserve the two-goal lead until the final buzzer.

With the loss, Binghamton finished its season winless in conference play, and will not earn a postseason berth.

Once again, the big three of McGeever, Hunsberger and senior Lis Zuern led the offense, accounting for 12 of the 16 goals scored and all four assists. The game was memorable for all three players, especially McGeever, who broke Becky Green’s single-season school record for assists with 33. Recording four goals and one assist in her final collegiate game, Zuern will leave Binghamton at second all time in goals (117) and points (158). Hunsberger had a huge game as well, scoring a team-high six goals and adding an assist and five draw control wins.

While Zuern’s departure will leave a large hole on the offensive end, budding stars such as Hunsberger and McGeever provide hope for next year’s squad. Other returning stars include junior Kristen Stone, who was third on the team in goals scored, and Renee Kiviat, who led all Binghamton freshmen in points scored with 12.

Erin McNulty, the fourth-ranked goalie in ESPN’s recruiting rankings, headlines an incoming freshman class. However, Zostant said that his current goalkeeper, freshman Kara Pafumi, will be the leading candidate for next year. Pafumi started all 16 games for the Bearcats this season, saving 131 shots for the Bearcats in her freshman year.

Overall, Zostant was disappointed in this season’s squad.

“While we were close in a lot of the games in conference, the results in the standings didn’t meet my expectations,” Zostant said of his team’s season. “There are things we can build on, especially with the play of [Kimberly] McGeever and [Katherine] Hunsberger. We just can’t rely on three people throughout the year [on offense], and we have to have other people step up in games when they face guard Zuern or Hunsberger.”

“I think if you look at our overall record, 18-18, it only speaks to part of the equation,” head coach Tim Sinicki said. “We started this season 0-6 with some games against bigger programs like VCU and Arkansas. We’ve got some ability in our program, and when we’re playing well we’re going to win ball games. And that translates to America East play too.”

In Saturday’s opener, Binghamton senior pitcher Mike Augliera posted one of his best outings of the season statistically, surrendering two earned runs and striking out a season-high 14 batters in six innings of work. Of Augliera’s 95 pitches, 70 were strikes. The Bearcats could not get things started on offense, however, and were outhit 6-3 in their only loss of the weekend.

Binghamton turned the tables in the nightcap, though, and outhit the Hawks 7-3 while collecting three runs in both the second and sixth innings. Sophomore third baseman Joel Stubbs ignited the BU offense in the second with a three-run blast, his first of the year, and the Bearcats never looked back, earning the split with a 7-3 victory.

Sunday’s opener was perhaps the most exciting game of the weekend. Unable to score through six innings and down three runs to the Hawks, the Bearcats exploded for a seventh-inning rally and tied the game at three after loading the bases with no outs.

The game remained tied until the top of the ninth, when the Bearcat offense came out of hibernation and scored eight unanswered runs. Senior Dave Ciocchi was the star of the ninth inning, as he drilled a three-run home run to put the Bearcats up 8-3. Overall, the Bearcats outhit the Hawks 16-8, with eight of the hits coming in the ninth inning. Freshman pitcher Mike Urbanski, who took the mound to pitch in the extra innings, shut down the Hawks and earned the win after striking out three batters and allowing no hits through the eighth and ninth. The Bearcats took the game 11-3.

Sunday’s nightcap was also won with a late Binghamton rally. The Bearcats played down 1-0 for the majority of the game, and recorded only three hits in five innings. It wasn’t until the sixth inning that the Bearcats once again pulled through, scoring two runs on three hits. The Hawks had no answer, as freshman relief pitcher Greg Ostner pitched a scoreless sixth inning to earn the win and junior closer Lee Sosa added his eighth save of the season with a scoreless seventh inning.

The Bearcats are scheduled take on the first-place Seawolves this weekend. Stony Brook topped Binghamton 2-1 in a three-game series earlier this month.

“As a competitor, you look for these opportunities. You try to challenge yourself … so you can see where you stack up against teams,” Sinicki said. “Right now, they’re the best in our conference. They’re sitting at the top, and we’re looking forward to a chance to try and knock them off.”

First pitch is set for noon at David F. Hoy Field at Cornell.

On Friday, Binghamton (10-13) knocked off University of Hartford 4-0 to advance to the next round. The Bearcats clinched the doubles point with two 8-0 victories from seniors Emma Leibowicz and Jillian Santos in the No. 2 doubles and freshmen Taylor Hollander and Missy Edelblum at No. 3 doubles. Needing three more points to progress, senior Marina Bykovskaya and freshmen Katherine Medianik and Edelbum each notched 6-0, 6-1 victories to secure the win for the Bearcats. Santos, Hollander and Leibowicz also took their singles matches.

“We were very focused and driven,” Binghamton University head coach Libby McGovern said. “We went in and did what was needed to be successful.”

On Saturday, the Bearcats got off to a strong start against UMBC as the duo of Santos and Leibowicz captured the second doubles 8-2. But the Bearcats dropped their other two doubles matches to lose the doubles point. The Bearcats then fell in straight sets at No. 1, 2 and 6 singles to lose the overall match.

“We are disappointed,” McGovern said. “Nobody wants to have their season end like that. Everybody wants to win the title and go on. They came out really excited, energetic and loose but a couple of things did not go our way and we got a little tight, and, well, you kind of see the results.”

The loss marked the end of the collegiate careers of Santos, Bykovskaya and Leibowicz, who will graduate at the end of the semester.

“This year we had three solid seniors in our lineup,” McGovern said. “They are great leaders and captains and have provided a lot of things for the freshmen and the lineup to follow and emulate as they go along their careers. They are going to be much missed next year.”

Santos notched 86 wins in singles and 75 wins in doubles over the course of her career, leaving her at third on both all-time lists in the history of the Bearcats. Bykovskaya garnered 73 victories in singles, putting her at seventh place on the all-time list, while Leibowicz racked up 47 singles victories and 66 doubles wins.

The Bearcats didn’t just send their seniors off with a dominating win, they showed why the program may have a tremendously bright future.

The Bearcats (4-9, 1-4 America East) throttled playoff-bound University of Maryland, Baltimore County (5-7, 3-2 AE) by a score of 15-8 at the Bearcats Sports Complex on Saturday. Binghamton went out with a bang on Senior Day, playing by far its best match of the year.

Head coach Scott Nelson said he saw that his team remained highly motivated, despite its struggles.

“One of the things that you get with a Division I athlete is that every game is really important,” he said. “That’s what a lot of people don’t understand. It was a very important night for the guys. They wanted to play well, they love to play. All week, we had a good week of practice. Even though league-wise we didn’t have anything to play for, we still had a lot to play for. We had the seniors to play for, and the kids really wanted a win.”

The home team set the pace early as it jumped out to a 4-2 first-period lead. While the gap was only two goals, the period saw senior goalie Jordan Marra stop a whopping six shots to control the pace. The Bearcat offense then exploded for six goals in the second period in what proved to be the game-winning stretch.

“It was really neat to see how well they did,” Nelson said. “We scored 15 goals, and 12 of them were assisted. In the first quarter Jordan Marra had six saves to really keep the score what it was and let us build a little bit of a lead, and the offense took over from there. I think they had a lot to play for, in a way, because they wanted to go out with a win for some great seniors.”

Sophomore attack Brandon Planck set a career high with seven points (five goals, two assists) to lead the Bearcats. Sophomore midfielder Mike Antinozzi tallied four goals and two assists, freshman midfielder J.T. Hauck reeled off three goals and an assist and junior midfielder Tyler Perrelle scored two goals and three assists.

Antinozzi finishes the year as the Bearcats’ top scorer with 32 goals and 14 assists, good for third in the conference in both goals and overall points. He also led the conference in shots taken by a healthy margin, tallying 131 this season. Perrelle finished with 25 goals and a team-leading 17 assists, finishing fifth in the America East in points.

Other notable Bearcats in the final conference statistics include Marra, who finished with the second-best goals against average at 10.58, and senior face-off specialist Chris Cook, who achieved the best face-off win percentage in the league at 55.9 percent. Cook won a whopping 18 of 25 faceoffs against UMBC.

The win marked the final game for the Bearcats seniors, which included Marra, Cook, defender Ryan Button, defender Ben Waldron, attack John Clark and midfielder Nick Marshall.

“They were all very solid citizens, very solid students,” Nelson said of the seniors. “You look at the GPAs of the guys, and it’s unbelievable … All the guys are doing very, very well. The guys are really great guys … that’s what makes this a great program.

Nelson now looks forward to next year and hopes to get a better stock of talent in the coming years to complement the strong intangibles that the program possesses.

“First thing is that we have great students and great kids, and now we have to up the athletic level a little bit,” he said. “We have to get a little more depth … We have to play a little better defense; the only way we can do that is to control the ball a little more with a better attack. Our goalie play was good, but it has to be better, it has to be more consistent in the game.”

While the talent level may be a bit less than satisfactory for Nelson’s aspirations of vaulting the program into the national top 20, he is supremely confident that they are moving in the right direction.

“I think we have a lot of areas to improve on, but we have some guys coming back,” he said. “My 13-year-old mentioned to me early Sunday morning that every single player who scored a goal last night is coming back next year, and I think that’s pretty neat … we’ve got something to build on there, and we can’t wait to get started.”

The quartet of fifth-year senior Erik van Ingen, junior Casey Gilbert, sophomore Chris Fernandez and freshman Jesse Garn took third place in the College Men’s Distance Medley Championship of America on Friday at the Penn Relays, finishing in 9:43.08.

Two days later, two Bearcats earned first-place finishes at the Cornell Invitational. Freshman Collin Frost won the men’s 5000 with a time of 14:57.45 while junior Jessica Hennig took the women’s 200 in 25.33 seconds.

Sophomore Bryce Edmister posted a 3-over-par score of 75. His round included seven bogeys, seven pars and four birdies as he sits in 20th place individually.

Senior Mike Surdey tallied a 77 (+5) and is currently in 15th place for the tournament after his team-high 11 pars.

Sophomore Paul Andrews and junior David Cellura fired scores of 8 and 11-over par, respectively.

The Bearcats teed off the third round at 8:30 a.m. today.

Macon led one of the worst teams in college basketball this year, and was one of the few holdovers from an era that put the program in the national spotlight for a notorious scandal that cost the jobs of his predecessor and several top University administrators.

Athletic director Patrick Elliott announced on Monday that Macon had been let go, effective immediately. He said a search for his replacement would begin shortly.

“I want to have a quality men’s basketball program with quality students, quality athletes and quality citizens,” Elliott said.

Macon told The Associated Press that he was not bitter at the University’s decision.

“In this job, you’re hired to be fired,” Macon said. “I don’t hold any ill will toward Binghamton University. They gave me a great opportunity and I’m just grateful to have had that chance. It was just amazing to get an opportunity to be a head coach.”

Binghamton will honor Macon’s contract, which was extended last year through February 2014 by former athletic director Jim Norris. Macon is set to earn an estimated $300,000.

Rob Mansell, a sophomore who lead the team in scoring, wrote in an email to Pipe Dream that Macon would be missed, even though the decision to release him was understandable.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow, but people need to understand that this is a business,” Mansell said. “And in a business, if you don’t produce, they’re going to let you go. Coach Macon will definitely be missed though.”

The decision is the latest item on a string of bad news for the program. Less than two weeks ago, it was reported that two assistant coaches, Ron Brown and Julius Smith, would not have their contracts renewed. Shortly thereafter, freshmen Ben Dickinson and Chris Longoria confirmed that they will transfer out of Binghamton at the year’s end.

“We spent a lot of time looking at a whole list of different things,” Elliott said. “I just came to the conclusion that I needed to make a change in leadership and now was the time to do it for the future.”

Macon inherited a program in shambles. He succeeded Kevin Broadus as head coach in 2009 after a series of academic and criminal transgressions resulted in a SUNY investigation of the program, as well as six player dismissals, the resignation of Director of Athletics Joel Thirer and the retirement of former University President Lois DeFleur.

But Macon’s tenure is highlighted by a lack of progress for the program. Macon had a 24-68 record during his time as head coach, and after posting a 2-29 record in the 2011-12 season, the status of the program is similar to, if not worse than, what it was in 2009.

Elliott noted that a national search for a new coach will begin soon, and that a new coach will be in place in time to “have an opportunity to recruit their own student-athletes.” Though no specific candidates have been named, Elliott said he is placing a priority on recruiting experience at the Division I level.

Despite the program’s seemingly inseparable tie to the events that transpired in 2009, Elliott stressed his belief that the position will be highly sought after. Even following a season that began with 26 consecutive losses — and has now ended with two confirmed transfers — BU’s athletic director was confident he won’t need to sell the position.

“I think this is one of the best mid-major jobs in the country,” he said. “We have one of the best facilities I’ve seen, we’ve led this league in attendance the last nine years and we have the best community support that I’ve seen. This is a quality job, and there are a lot of people who are going to be interested in it.”

The Bearcats (13-11) have dominated the conference over the past decade, winning seven of the last nine titles. They’ll be favorites again this year, after earning the No. 1 seed.

Binghamton couldn’t have drawn up the end to its regular season any better if it tried. The team has won its last six games, including three consecutive shutouts to conclude the season. Head coach Adam Cohen said he expects that level of play to continue come Saturday.

“We are going to compete,” Cohen said. “We’re on the road so I expect the guys to compete and I expect that our guys play smart and play the percentages to get the job done.”

The Bearcats’ reputation over the past few years has set the bar high for this year’s squad, but Cohen is confident that his team’s hot streak heading into the tournament will translate into positive results.

“I think it helps,” Cohen said about the team’s recent play. “We’ve been playing better doubles of late. Especially when you get into postseason play, the doubles point is big. It’s just nice going into singles being up 1-0. So hopefully we can continue to play strong in doubles and take that momentum into singles. You only need three wins instead of four if you can get doubles so it makes it easier.”

One of the highlights of this year’s team has been the play at the bottom of its lineup. While senior Alexandre Haggai and junior Ruben Devos have provided a reliable foundation for the team at No. 1 and No. 2, and freshmen starters Ismael Dinia and Robin Lesage have gotten the job done in the middle of the lineup, the consistency at the bottom of the lineup hasn’t been overlooked by Cohen.

“Last year we seemed to be more top-heavy,” he said. “This year we’ve gotten a lot of consistency from the bottom and I think that’s what you need when you’re chasing a championship.”

While the tournament had previously been held at Yale University, this year the tournament has been moved to Flushing Meadows.

“It’s definitely exciting,” Cohen said. “[Roger] Federer and [Rafael] Nadal and all the other great professionals play there for the U.S. Open, so it definitely adds something to the experience.”

Still, with all the hype and expectations surrounding Binghamton, Cohen said the team hasn’t done anything special over the past week in preparation for the tournament.

“Monday we took a day off,” Cohen said. “We didn’t play because of the weather and Tuesday we played a little bit indoors at the Events Center. The last few days we’ve been able to get outside. We’re just doing the normal things, not anything out of the ordinary. Normal practices and just trying to keep the guys loose and ready to play this weekend.”

If Binghamton wins its first matchup, the team will play the winner of the matchup between second-seeded Stony Brook University and third-seeded University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The winner of that matchup will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Championship.

The Bearcats are set to kick off the tournament at 2 p.m. on Saturday against the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between No. 4 Boston University and No. 5 University of Hartford.

Although the No. 3 Bearcats (9-12) will kick off play against No. 6 University of Hartford in Flushing, N.Y., it seems as if the team’s sights are already set on the final round. Boston will all-but-assuredly be waiting yet again and will be looking to continue its dominance of the America East at Binghamton’s expense.

In each of the 10 years the Bearcats have been a Division I program, they have finished no worse than third place and have posted seven second-place finishes. But in each of the last four years, those second-place finishes have come at the hands of the Terriers.

Led by seniors Jillian Santos, Marina Bykovskaya and Emma Leibowicz, Binghamton will take to the Flushing courts in hopes that this will finally be the year that they can take home the conference crown.

“As always, we have a really good shot at coming away with a championship,” Binghamton head coach Libby McGovern said. “[Just like every year], it’s going to be a battle.”

Each of the team’s seniors will head into the weekend not only looking to eventually take down the Terriers, but also hoping to cap off impressive individual careers of their own.

Santos, who will play at No. 1 singles, sits in a tie for third place on the program’s all-time singles wins list with 86.

Bykovskaya, who has without question been the squad’s most consistent player this season, has won a team-high 21 matches and boasts 72 career victories. She was also named America East Player of the Week on April 24 following a 2-0 record last weekend against Stony Brook University and Hartford.

Leibowicz has won a team-best 10 doubles matches this season and ranks eighth all time with 65 doubles victories.

McGovern said that she could not ask anything more of her seniors and hopes the trio will continue to pave the way as it has all season.

The Bearcats have won four out of their last five matches, including a dominating 7-0 win over the very Hartford Hawks they are set to face in today’s 11 a.m. match.

“It’s always nice to go in and ride a bunch of wins at the end of the season,” McGovern said. “We’ve been playing extremely well and want to keep that rhythm and flow going.”

On Thursday, McGovern did not seem too concerned with her team’s first-round opponent — and understandably so. The bottom-seeded Hawks are a laughable 1-17 overall in the 2011-12 season and are winless in conference play, as well as against Binghamton all time.

She said that she will use that to her advantage and look to use the opening-round matchup as an opportunity to “let [the freshmen] relax and show them that it’s no different [from the regular season].”

Should the Bearcats take down Hartford, they would then face No. 2 University of Maryland, Baltimore County in Saturday’s semi-final at 10 a.m.

The winner of that match would then all-but-assuredly face the Terriers in Sunday’s 11 a.m. final.

“Everyone wants to knock off Boston,” McGovern said. “We’ve done it twice in the regular season; we’re just waiting for the one that really, really counts.”

Cornell (10-4, 4-2 Ivy League) came out hot, scoring first and building its lead to 6-2 just 13 minutes into the game. Binghamton (3-12, 0-5 America East) used back-to-back goals by senior Lis Zuern and junior Kimberly McGeever to keep it close at the midway point of the first half, but the Bearcats did not score again until four minutes into the second half when McGeever netted her second goal of the game.

During the Bearcats’ 19-minute scoring drought, the Big Red had its way in nearly every aspect of the game. Cornell’s defense deterred Binghamton shooters away from the fan, and its offense kept freshman goalkeeper Kara Pafumi busy by scoring six goals during the stretch.

“I thought we played as well as we could have,” Binghamton head coach Tony Zostant said of his team’s performance. “At 6-4, we were in striking distance. But then the wheels fell off before the half. We simply were outmanned.”

The speed and pressure of Cornell, while unrelenting, also led to the Bearcats being out-hustled to a 20-6 ground ball advantage.

The Bearcats have now been held winless since March 21, when they topped Colgate University at home. During the eight-game skid, BU has eclipsed 10 goals just once and has consistently been outshot, including in Wednesday’s match, 35-16.

“That’s been a problem thus far,” Zostant said of his team’s offensive execution. “Three people doing what they usually do in Zuern, [junior Katherine] Hunsberger and McGeever scoring, and one or two others, but no midfield production. We’ve been working on that in practice, but people are passing up shots for the other three.”

Hunsberger tied a single-game Binghamton record with nine draw control wins. She also raised her season total to 46, a single-season school record while tallying two goals and an assist in the match.

“[Hunsberger] is really coming into her own,” Zostant said. “She’s done what we’ve asked of her this year and is extremely coachable.”

McGeever, who had two goals and two assists in the game, also turned in a noteworthy performance. She now sits two assists shy of the school’s single-season record of 32, set by Becky Green in 2004.

Though mathematically eliminated from a postseason berth, Binghamton is scheduled to host first-place Boston University in its regular season finale over the weekend, a match in which Zostant said he would like to play spoiler.

“At this point, we want to upset teams,” Zostant said.

The game will also celebrate senior night, where the team will honor Zuern and fellow seniors Brittany Stufano, Lauren Lukefahr and Allie Sabitus.

“We want to send our seniors out with a ‘W,’” Zostant said.

Face-off is set for noon on Saturday at the Bearcats Sports Complex.

The league’s top four squads will earn berths to the conference tournament, but the Bearcats’ status as the final postseason team is essentially nominal, as they trail the University of Maine, which sits in fifth place, by two games in the loss column. Sixth-place University of Hartford is currently tied with Binghamton in losses (15-25, 6-9 America East).

The Bearcats do not control their postseason destiny, but matters get even more unfavorable. First-place Stony Brook University is scheduled to visit the East Gym Field this weekend for a three-game set, the first two of which will come in a doubleheader on Saturday. The series is also the final regular season conference series for the Bearcats. The Black Bears (12-26-1, 3-7-1 AE), on the other hand, will host last-place University of Maryland, Baltimore County and visit Hartford (8-36, 3-9 AE) in their final two series.

Sheer numbers mean the Bearcats desperately need multiple wins, possibly a sweep, this weekend as Maine’s magic number is five with six games remaining.

“I think we’re just going to worry about ourselves this weekend,” Binghamton head coach Michelle Burrell said. “The best thing we can do is win the first game and build from there. If we can win this weekend, then we’re in a better situation.”

If not for a handful of missed opportunities and a tendency to fall apart late in games, though, the Bearcats wouldn’t be mired in this late-season predicament. Three of the team’s losses have occurred in the bottom of the seventh inning. In two of those games — against Boston University and Maine — Binghamton even held a lead entering the final frame.

“We’ve put it behind us,” Burrell said. “We can only move forward from here, and we’ve got a chance to take some games from Stony Brook. So we’re hoping to do that this weekend.”

Binghamton’s pitching and defense will be key against Stony Brook (31-12-1, 10-1-1 AE). Though the Seawolves rank fifth in the conference with 19 home runs, they lead the America East in batting average and are second in runs scored. The error-prone Bearcats, who have committed nearly twice as many as the Seawolves, cannot afford to make mistakes because Stony Brook is so effective at manufacturing runs.

“We’re going to have to play good defense and make sure that any runs they score, we’re making them earn them and not giving up extra opportunities,” Burrell said. “[We have to make] sure we’re doing everything we can … so our pitchers don’t have to work any harder.”

Binghamton’s lineup boasts last year’s America East Co-Player of the Year in junior Jessica Phillips, but as a whole, the Binghamton offense has struggled. The team has managed just 11 runs over the last eight games. Stony Brook has allowed just 17 runs in 12 America East games, and freshman pitcher Allison Crukov leads the conference with 20 wins, a 1.09 ERA and 169 strikeouts.

“We’re going to have to be aggressive and make sure we’re swinging at good first and second-pitch strikes so we’re not getting ourselves behind in the count,” Burrell said of Binghamton’s offensive game plan for the weekend. “I think it comes down to staying confident and knowing that just because we haven’t scored a lot of runs in the past couple of series that we’re still capable of doing it.”

One factor bodes extremely well for the Bearcats: They have not lost a home game this season.

“I think we’re definitely looking forward to playing at home,” Burrell said. “For some reason we have played better at home, so hopefully that’ll help us. It is our senior weekend, so we’re expecting to have a quite a few fans here.”

First pitch of Saturday’s doubleheader is scheduled for noon.

Cornell (28-11-1, 13-3 Ivy League) scored seven unanswered runs after the third inning while holding the Bearcats (15-17, 6-2 America East) to only one hit over the final seven innings of the game.

Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki said he was disappointed with the overall effort of the team.

“We had some good individual performances,” he said. “But we are not talented enough to win games with just ‘some’ good performances.”

Cornell took an early 2-0 lead on three hits in the first inning, but the Bearcats quickly countered.

After a pair of walks to junior first baseman Jordon Smucker and freshman third baseman Brian Ruby, sophomore second baseman Daniel Nevares singled through the left side to load the bases with no outs, setting up a potentially big inning.

The next batter, freshman designated hitter Scott Hagan, was hit by a pitch to bring the first runner across the plate for the Bearcats. Fellow freshman Zach Blanden followed with an RBI single to the right side to even the score at 2-2. After a fielder’s choice ground out cut down a run at the plate, Hagan was able to score on a wild pitch to give the Bearcats a 3-2 lead. Sophomore shortstop John Howell then knocked a two-run double down the left field line to push the Binghamton lead to 5-2.

Following the strong offensive performance in the second, however, the Bearcats were held scoreless for the remainder of the game.

The Big Red took advantage of poor pitching in the fourth and regained the lead, 6-5. After tacking on another two-out run off of a pair of singles in the fifth, Cornell delivered the finishing blow in the eighth when an infield throwing error, a wild pitch and a double allowed two unearned runs to cross the plate.

“Our focus was lacking and I thought we did a poor job responding to their four-run inning,” Sinicki said.

The final six of Cornell’s seven pitchers silenced Binghamton’s bats, allowing just one hit in 7.2 innings. The one hit came in the ninth inning off the bat of Ruby, who stroked a single into center field to extend his hit streak to 11 games. The Bearcats also used seven pitchers in the game, with freshman Greg Ostner providing two hitless innings and recording two strikeouts.

Binghamton currently sits third in the conference and is three games behind first-place Stony Brook University. BU is set to head to University of Hartford this weekend to take on the Hawks (9-31, 1-9 AE) in a four-game series with doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday.

“Our guys are well aware what’s at stake on the weekend and the series at Hartford is no different,” Sinicki said. “Although [Hartford’s] record isn’t great, they are a much-improved team with a new coaching staff and energy. They are looking to knock someone off; we just have to protest against us being that someone.”

The first game is set to begin at noon on Saturday at Fiondella Field.