Binghamton University’s women’s tennis has been playing solidly all year long, but has yet to play against a conference opponent. That will change Saturday, as the Bearcats begin their America East slate with a home match against the Hartford Hawks at 10:30 a.m., in the Events Center.

The squad may be sitting comfortably at 7-5, but it will make or break its season over the next two weeks over which it plays four conference matches and prepares itself for the America East Conference Tournament on April 25.

Binghamton’s upcoming slate of conference matches starts with Hartford, an opponent the Bearcats should be able to take care of comfortably for the following reasons:

They are on a roll: The Bearcats have won six of their past seven dual matches, their lone loss coming from Lynn University, the third-ranked Division II school in the country. Binghamton’s success has come against some solid opponents; the Bearcats have beaten Marist, Villanova, Farleigh Dickinson and St. Bonaventure during their streak, which has seen the confidence of its players grow massively.

“We are confident in our abilities. We know that we can beat Hartford,” said No. 1 singles player Anna Edelman.

Hartford is not as good as Binghamton, and the record shows that: The Hartford Hawks have an 0-5 record this season. Binghamton’s superior record against common opponents also shows that it should be the better team on Saturday. Hartford lost 7-0 to a New Jersey Institute of Technology Team that Binghamton beat 5-2 and was also slain 6-1 by a Siena squad that the Bearcats handled 7-0.

Binghamton has been absolutely dominant against Hartford in its recent past and has not lost to the Hawks in years: Head coach Mike Stevens joined the Bearcats for their 2003-2004 season, and they have beaten Hartford all six times that they met in that span. In fact, Stevens’ squad has not surrendered a mere match to Hartford in any of their encounters since his arrival.

Binghamton has Anna Edelman and Lauren Bates: Edelman and Bates have been playing incredible tennis throughout their freshmen years, and should be able to put their stamp on the match against Hartford. Together, the duo has put together an impressive 18-2 doubles record. Bates has a stellar 18-4 record in singles, while Edelman has gone 15-5 for the season. The two players have not failed all season and have excelled in the top spots of the team lineup. They should be able to carry their team past Hartford and onto upcoming challenges that await them.

Binghamton has the right goals in mind: The Bearcats know that they have been playing for one goal for the entire year; winning the conference tournament. And they are fully aware of the fact that beating Hartford on Saturday is another step in that direction.

“I think we’re improving as a team, and we’re going in the right direction in reaching our goal of winning the conference,” Bates said.