Bearcats fall to Army 6-1 in spring semester opener

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Binghamton (3-2) squandered six match points in doubles play, then suffered narrow three-set losses in four singles matches to come up short against host Army, 6-1, in the spring semester opener Saturday afternoon.

The Bearcats' top two doubles tandems each held three match points before their Black Knights counterparts rallied for 9-8 pro-set wins to set the tone for the match. Later in singles, senior No. 2 Brad Davidoff (Roslyn, N.Y.) scored a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 victory for the team's lone point. Binghamton pushed Army to the brink in three other singles matches, but lost in a third-set tie-break at the third spot, and went down 7-5 in the third set at both fourth and fifth singles.

Sophomore No. 1 Akshay Rao (New Delhi, India), ranked 15th in the Northeast, looked sluggish in a 6-2, 6-2 defeat to Arnie Albornoz. Rao, who is now 13-2 in 2002-03, beat Albornoz in the fall, 6-4, 6-3, en route to the singles title at the Cornell Invitational.

Binghamton will host Colgate Sunday afternoon at the Binghamton Tennis Center. The match will begin at 3:30 p.m.

Army 6, Binghamton 1
DOUBLES
A. Albornoz/R. Albornoz (A) def. Akshay Rao/Brad Sherwood (BU) 9-8
Srivastava/Collins (A) def. Brad Davidoff/Brian O'Connor (BU) 9-8
Skrobarcek/Fisher (A) def. Steve Spencer/Krishna Vallabhaneni (BU) 8-6

SINGLES
A. Albornoz (A) def. Rao (BU) 6-2, 6-2
Davidoff (BU) def. R. Albornoz (A) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6
Srivastava (A) def. Sherwood (BU) 6-3, 6-7, 7-6
Skrobarcek (A) def. Spencer (BU) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
Fisher (A) def. O'Connor (BU) 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
Matt Emerson (A) def. Jordan Steinberg (BU) 6-2, 6-1