While many people were busy watching football this past weekend, the Binghamton University women’s tennis team was busy participating in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association East Regional Championship at the University of Pennsylvania.

Highly regarded as the most important event of the fall season, the ITA tourney is comprised of successful schools like Boston College and Virginia, but none of that fazed freshman Jillian Santos and sophomore Lauren Bates, who seemed to excel in the spotlight.

Bates began the tournament in singles play by knocking off Alexa Ely of Pennsylvania, 6-1, 6-7, 6-0, before defeating Katherine Atwell of Boston College, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. The wins qualified her for the first round where she took out Diana Popesov of Buffalo by a score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. In the second round, she lost to No. 17 Stefanie Nunic of Boston University, 6-4, 6-2.

Bates did not enjoy losing in the second round, but she was still able to find some good to come out of it.

“I played pretty well,” Bates said. “The matches were close and I fought through it. I faced a tough competitor, but I like the way I played.”

Santos also had her share of fun by eliminating George Mason’s Lindsay Gray in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. Just like Bates, however, Santos struggled in the second round, losing to Ragini Acharya of William and Mary, 6-1, 6-1, although she was the No. 3 seed.

“It was a pretty successful weekend. Lauren had a good tournament as well as a good record,” Santos said. “I played good, and it was nice to see players and teams outside of our division. Overall, it was a great experience.”

Binghamton head coach Mike Stevens backed up that notion and was proud of the way his team performed, all factors considered.

“Jillian and Lauren played very well. It is a great tournament and they played some very tough competition. They both had good wins in the first round, but the competition doesn’t get any easier.”

Nonetheless, Bates and Santos became only the second pair in Binghamton’s seven-year Division I history to move on to the second round of the tournament — something Bates takes pride in.

“It is a testament to our team — it shows that we are improving,” Bates said. “We have been working hard in the offseason for the upcoming season, and it shows.”

Bates and Santos also joined forces for doubles, but were dismissed by Lana Kirasapolsky and Lauren Cash of Boston College, 8-4, in the first round.

The Bearcats can now rest up and take some well-deserved time off, as the next scheduled match will not take place until Jan. 25, in Syracuse.