The Binghamton University men’s tennis team will be heading to New Haven, Conn. for the America East Championship tournament this weekend. The Bearcats were awarded the top seed and will receive a first round bye. The other matchups include No. 4 Boston University vs. No. 5 Hartford, where the winner will face Binghamton in the semifinals, and No. 2 Maryland-Baltimore County, the defending champions, vs. No. 3 Stony Brook. Binghamton won the AE conference every season from 2003 to 2005, Stony Brook won in 2006 and UMBC took home the crown last season.
For a complete breakdown of the first round matchups, check out bupipedream.com
No. 1 Binghamton Bearcats (11-10, 2-0 AE) vs. winner of No. 4 Boston University (4-13, 2-3 AE)/No. 5 Hartford (0-14, 0-4 AE)
While UMBC has the much better overall record than Binghamton, the Bearcats were able to snare the top seed thanks to victories over highly respected programs such as George Washington, Cornell, Georgetown and Army. Binghamton’s schedule also included matches against nationally ranked programs, a claim none of the other four teams in the tournament can make. The program and many of its players had an up and down season but the team is poised and ready to make a run at the America East title, an honor they won three times in a row from 2003 to 2005. Here’s what you need to know about the Bearcats:
Head coach: Adam Cohen, second year
Impact players:
Faisal Mohamed — The senior captain has won 146 career matches (76 of which were singles) and is the heart and soul of the squad. Mohamed went 16-15 overall this season, however that record is misleading. Mohamed went up against each opponent’s top player every time out and battled through an early season injury. He won the Flight 2 singles title at the Army Invitational in October and will be Cohen’s number one as usual this weekend.
Arnav Jain — Simply put, this freshman has been just short of superhuman for the Bearcats this season. The youngster has won eight consecutive duals and is 15-2 overall in them and has only lost once as a doubles player. Jain is penciled in at fifth singles this weekend.
Sven Vloedgraven — Not only was the freshman last week’s America East Rookie of the Week but he has also won five consecutive duals and is 16-8 overall as a singles player on the season. Vloedgraven is scheduled to play second singles.
Sebastian Dietz — While the highly recruited junior didn’t quite live up to first year expectations, he put together a solid campaign, going 7-6 in duals while struggling with a nagging injury. He is teamed with Mohamed to go 7-3 in doubles and that is the most likely pairing at first doubles. Dietz is expected to play third or fourth singles.
Gregoire Berner — The transfer senior was one of Cohen’s biggest workhorses this season, playing in nearly every match. He amassed a record of 10-8 in duals and played solidly when paired mostly with Jain or Mohamed in doubles. Most likely he will play sixth singles and is the leading candidate to team with Jain at third doubles.
Alex Dobrin — The senior often flies under the radar and has slid down the depth chart this season but his experience may be what puts Binghamton over the edge. The 2004-2005 America East Rookie of the Year went undefeated in last year’s championship and prior to this season had played dominant tennis in the top half of the lineup. He has won his last two singles dual and is a skilled doubles player.
Moshe Levy — Unfortunately for the sophomore, injuries have severely limited him over the past two seasons. However, he did go 7-6 in duals this season and could get a singles nod as Cohen seems to have plenty of faith in the guy who may be the next captain.
Impact doubles team: Tough call here but Mohamed/Dietz is the most experienced and until recently was a combo that was working exceptionally well.
2007 Tournament results: (Def. Hartford 4-0, lost to UMBC 2-4, def. Boston University 4-1)
The Positive: They faced by far the toughest schedule of any AE team, have made it to the championship match four out of the six seasons they have been in conference and swept both Hartford and Boston University earlier this season.
The Negative: Inconsistent play led them to lose very winnable matches against Buffalo, Concordia and Western Michigan. Questions concerning the health of three of their top players.
Momentum: The Bearcats closed out the season on an 8-4 run and should benefit from the bye awarded to the top seed. Players such as Jain, Vloedgraven and Dobrin have been playing exceptionally well as of late.
Verdict: While UMBC and SBU are both talented, dangerous programs, the Bearcats should advance to the NCAA as long as they execute on big points and play consistently. They are the best and deepest team in the tournament.