As part of the interactive series, Campus Connection,
America East continues to travel across the conference featuring a team from
each of our nine institutions. As part of the show, we also have the chance to
learn some of the basics of the sports from our student-athletes.
In this episode of Campus Connection, we headed to
Binghamton University to chat with the men’s tennis team and take a few swings
on the court. We caught up with the head coach and two brothers to talk about
the program’s success, the international team dynamic and what it will take to
win another championship.
The Bearcats are a melting pot of global talent with
student-athletes from around the world. The team consists of student-athletes
from France, Germany, India, Brazil, Turkey, Belgium, Morocco and Reunion
Island. Even though everyone comes from a different country, each Bearcat
shares the same love for tennis.
Adam Cohen enters his sixth year at the helm as head coach
at Binghamton. Under Cohen’s leadership, the Bearcats have captured four
consecutive conference titles and have advanced to the NCAA tournament seven
times in the last nine years. Cohen has
recruited premier players from across the globe who have also earned
unprecedented academic success at Binghamton.
Last year, one of the recruits already had a connection to
the university prior to enrolling.
Sophomore Ruben Haggai joined his older brother, Alexandre, who is a
senior this year at Binghamton. Alexandre has filled the void left by the
graduation of three-time America East Player of the Year Sven Vloedgraven. The
senior has won seven matches at No. 1 singles for the Bearcats, a team high,
and is third on the team in wins this season with 13.
Alexandre and Ruben have enjoyed playing on the same team
and believe that even though everyone is from another place on the map they are
actually one big family. The international aspect only strengthens the bond
which makes the Bearcats a force to be reckoned with.
The 2012 America East Tennis Championship will be held April
27-29 in Flushing, N.Y. at the USTA National Tennis Center.
With only one week
until Championship check out this feature to watch us put our serving skills to
the test.