BALTIMORE, Md. – The day began and finished with a Binghamton win, as both the men and women advanced in the 2013 America East Tennis Championships. In between, UMBC prevailed over Stony Brook in a tightly contested match.
To kick off the championship, the No. 4 Binghamton women took on No. 5 Hartford in the first round of the women’s bracket. The Bearcats took the momentum during doubles play and never looked back, winning 8-2 at No. 2 and 8-1 at the No. 3 spot. In singles play, Binghamton won the second, third and fifth matches and was leading in the remaining three when the match was decided. Agatha Ambrozy (St. Petersburg, Fla.) highlighted the win by taking her No. 5 match 6-0, 6-0. Alexis Tashiro (Jamaica, N.Y.) and Sara Kohtz (Chicago, Ill.) picked up the remaining two wins at No. 2 and 3, respectively.
In the second match of the day, UMBC outlasted Stony Brook as onlookers were treated to some fantastic play. The drama started in doubles, where UMBC jumped out to an early lead at the No. 2 spot, but Stony Brook quickly tied things up at 1-1 with a victory at No. 1. The important doubles point then came down to the No. 3 match, where Daniel Gray (Bowie, Md.) and Alex Drean (Bayonne, France) snagged an 8-5 victory to clinch.
Singles play began much like doubles did earlier. Gaulthier Berrert (Lagny Sur Marne, France) earned a straight set victory at No. 4 to give the Retrievers a 2-0 lead in the match, but Jose Morales (Bradenton, Fla.) brought the Seawolves right back into things with a 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 3. All remaining singles matches went on to reach the third set, as the match stretched past the three hour mark. Gray made the score 3-1 with his 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win at No. 6, but play continued to be tight throughout as UMBC searched for the clinching point. Battling back after losing the first set 3-6, Kamal Patel (Germantown, Md.) surged back at No. 5 to win the final two sets 6-4 and 6-3, sending UMBC to the finals on Sunday.
Binghamton cruised to a 4-0 victory in the final match of the day, sealing its place in Sunday’s championship match. The Bearcats won at No. 1 and 3 doubles to earn the first point, with Robin Lesage (Mulhouse, France) and Ismael Dinia (Rabat, Morocco) earning and 8-0 win. In singles play, Alexander Maisin (Overijse, Belgium) won the fourth and final point with a straight set victory (6-1, 6-1). The Bearcats also claimed wins at No. 4 and 5 to seal the win.
Championship play will resume tomorrow with the women’s semifinals. Top seeded Stony Brook will take on No. 4 Binghamton at 10 a.m. and No. 2 Albany will face off against No. 3 UMBC at 2 p.m. For more information about the 2013 America East Tennis Championships, visit Championship Central on AmericaEast.com.