The Binghamton University women’s tennis team (8-2) bounced back from two straight losses with a triumphant 7-0 sweep at Villanova (0-11). The Bearcats captured all three doubles matches in addition to all of the singles matches.

“We had a fairly easy match this week, but we are always looking for ways to improve,” said Binghamton head coach Mike Stevens.

The Bearcats returned to their winning ways with the victory, as they had opened the season with a 7-0 start.

“We are definitely moving in the right direction, but we need to keep it going,” Stevens said. “Our goal each year is to win the America East, and we have a good chance of accomplishing that goal.”

Junior Lauren Bates continued her solid season with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Courtney Reed at the No. 1 position. Bates now holds a career record of 67-25. She remains in eighth place all-time in school history in terms of career victories. In doubles play, Bates and sophomore Emma Leibowicz scored an 8-0 win over Carla Erksine and Alison Solberg, also at the No. 1 slot.

Junior Anna Edelman, who is currently ranked No. 112 in ITA rankings, won her match easily against Erksine 6-0, 6-1 at second singles. Edelman joined senior Danyelle Shapiro for an 8-3 triumph at third doubles over Wesleigh Donadio and Emily Urda.

All of the singles matches were dominated by the Bearcats, with no singles player losing more than one game in a single set.

The Bearcat Web site recently announced that the women’s tennis program posted the highest combined GPA among all teams at Binghamton during the spring 2009 semester with a 3.47. Senior Danyelle Shapiro led the Bearcats with a perfect 4.00 GPA. The team has attained at least a 3.00 GPA in seven of the last eight semesters.

The Bearcats are next scheduled to head to Fairleigh Dickinson. Stevens has confidence in the team’s ability to win, but is proceeding with caution.

“They are a very balanced team, and we have to focus on each matchup separately,” he said. “Tennis, while a team sport, has individual matchups, so analyzing each match is key to victory.”

The match begins at noon on Friday.