Bearcats defeat Bucknell for third straight year, 5-2

VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton (13-9) began its weekend homestand in winning fashion, defeating visiting Bucknell 5-2 on a sunny Thursday afternoon. The Bearcats swept all three doubles matches before winning four of six singles matches.

Sophomore Akshay Rao (New Delhi, India) posted a 6-2, 6-2 win at number one - his seventh straight victory. Rao improved to 28-4 overall, 19-3 in duals. Earlier, Rao teamed with senior Brad Sherwood (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) for an 8-3 win at the top doubles spot, where the pair is 10-4 in duals.

Freshman Brian O'Connor (New Rochelle, N.Y./Iona Prep) moved up a spot in the singles lineup and scored a 6-1, 6-3 win. Junior Steve Spencer (Plantation, Fla./Nova) earned a 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory at fifth singles, and senior Ryan Rosenthal (Laverock, Pa./Cheltenham) improved to 6-1 in duals with a 6-4, 7-5 win at the sixth position.

Binghamton will conclude its regular season with two key conference matches at home. On Friday night, the Bearcats will move indoors to take on Stony Book at 8 p.m. at the Binghamton Tennis Center. The match will likely determine the top seed for the America East Championship, set for April 25-27 at Yale. The Seawolves defeated BU twice last season - each by a 4-3 score. On Sunday, BU is scheduled to face Vermont at 10 a.m. back on the West Gym Courts.

Binghamton 5, Bucknell 2

DOUBLES
Rao/Sherwood (BU) def. Denefrio/DiChiara (Buck), 8-3
Davidoff/Spencer (BU) def. Jacobs/Salam (Buck), 8-6
Gerard/Krishna Vallabhaneni (BU) def. Menezes/Saperstein (Buck), 8-6

SINGLES
Akshay Rao (BU) def. Nick Denefrio (Buck), 6-2, 6-2
Todd Jacobs (Buck) def. Brad Davidoff (BU), 7-6, 6-1
Asher Salam (Buck) def. Edwin Gerard (BU), 6-4, 7-5
Brian O'Connor (BU) def. Joe Menezes (Buck), 6-1, 6-3
Steve Spencer (BU) def. Gerald DiChiara (Buck), 6-2, 7-6 (2)
Ryan Rosenthal (BU) def. Aaron Sapertstein (Buck), 6-4, 7-5