The Binghamton University men's tennis team fell to Cornell 7-0 Saturday afternoon in Vestal. Freshmen Dan Pergel and Michael Pawlowicz had a strong effort in doubles play, winning 6-4 over Cornell's Eero Vasa and Daniel Sofer to highlight a gritty effort for Binghamton, who was missing two members of its starting lineup.

The Bearcats were unable to claim a singles match, but Pawlowicz nearly pulled out a win against Alafia Ayeni, who has been ranked as high as 436 in the ATP. After dropping the first set, Pawlowicz took the second set 6-4 and just fell short in the third set (4-6).

"When you lose two starters to injury/illness and you're going to play a top 25 caliber team, that's a tough spot to be in," said head coach Nick Ziezula. "I am proud of the fight from the guys. Michael stepped up and went toe-to-toe with an ATP level player and pushed him to the brink. His work is paying off and will start showing with results soon."

With the lineup shake-up Kushaan Nath moved to No. 1 while Sebastian Quiros and Luke Karniewich slid into action.

Up Next

It will be a quick turnaround for Binghamton, as the Bearcats will face Youngstown State and St. Francis (Brooklyn) Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. respectively.

Full Results

Doubles

Ayeni/Kazakov (CU) def. Nath/Pena (BU), 6-2

Pergel/Pawlowicz (BU) def. Vasa/Sofer (CU), 6-4

Bynoe/Kirovski (CU) def. Quiros/Karniewich (BU), 6-3

Order of finish: 1,3,2

Singles

Vasa (CU) def. Nath (BU), 6-1, 6-4

Ayeni (CU) def. Pawlowicz (BU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

Kazakov (CU) def. Pena (BU), 6-0, 6-1

Bynoe (CU) def. Pergel (BU), 6-2, 6-0

Sofer (CU) def. Quiros (BU), 6-0, 6-3

McAllister (CU) def. Karniewich (BU), 6-2, 6-1