VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's tennis opens its six-event fall season this weekend with the NateRentals Binghamton Championships, presented by Big Zues BBQ and Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP. The Bearcats will welcome eight teams to the three-day event, beginning Friday morning at the Lane-Starke Tennis Center in Binghamton. 

Bringing players for the singles and doubles draws will be Army, Bucknell, Buffalo, Colgate, Cornell, Le Moyne, Niagara and Siena.

Play will begin Friday morning and run through the weekend, starting at 9 a.m. each day. Matches are scheduled on the nine outdoor courts, with the six indoor courts available as needed. The format will include eight flighted singles draws and round-robin doubles play. 

"Starting the year off on brand new courts outside at the Lane-Starke Tennis Center has been a tremendous honor and sparked a lot of excitement for the team," head coach Nick Zieziula said. "There are many people that we are grateful to for making this situation a reality, especially Michael Lane who has been a tremendous supporter of our program and the entire university, the long standing commitment of Michael Starke to build and shape the varsity tennis program and the tennis community of Binghamton at large, President Stenger and all of our athletic administrations who are committed to  excellent educational opportunities in the classroom and on the court. To have our outdoor and indoor courts adjacent to each other with significant upgrades over the last year our facility situation is on par with the Ivy League and the best programs in the Northeast."

The Bearcats return six players from last year's squad and welcome three newcomers as they transition to the Northeast Conference and prepare to battle for a conference championship in the spring. Sophomore Ronin Lotlikar won a combined 29 singles and doubles matches last year and classmate William Binnie Morais won 22 combined matches. Junior Kyle Weekes enters his third year as a top-end starter and talented freshmen Filipe Costa, Andre Ajed and Matt Carlson will bolstered the lineup.    

"We have a young squad with no seniors and a lot of enthusiasm," Zieziula said. "Our three freshmen have acclimated well. Filipe brings the most match experience of the class ... we love his attacking mindset which fits in well in the Northeast. Andre built a strong foundation in Hawaii but getting him into an environment with more high level training partners and different styles is helping him grow and improve much faster. Matt brings a lot to the table with his attacking game, but he has also been a great addition with his basketball experience and understanding the importance of a team first mindset.
 
"The returners did a great job this summer training and working on their games ... it showed in the first days back in August and everyone is chomping at the bit to get into match play which is great to see. William and Ronin both put together some great matches in their freshmen campaign but both have made some small adjustments that are going to help them be more consistent in their results over the course of the year."

After the leadoff home event, BU will compete in the ITA Regionals plus two tournaments at Navy. The Bearcats will also host another home event in October, the NateRentals.com Mock Duals on October 27-29 at the Lane-Starke Tennis Center. 

The spring slate will culminate with the NEC Championship, held April 12-14 at the Mercer County Tennis Center in West Windsor, N.J. 

The Bearcats want to extend a special thanks to NateRentals.com, along with Big Zues BBQ and Levene Gouldin & Thompson for their support.