VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's tennis (16-9) makes its 10th NCAA appearance in program history on Friday when the third-seeded Bearcats meet second-seed and 26th-ranked Michigan (16-12) in a first round match at 10 a.m. Columbia's Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center. Top-seed and eighth-ranked Columbia (20-3) plays fourth-seed Quinnipiac (14-10) at 1 p.m. in the other first-round match. The winners meet Saturday in the second round.  

Binghamton is carrying the banner for the Northeast Conference and will be making its first NCAA appearance in 11 years. The Bearcats are riding a six-match win streak that included three straight victories at the NEC Championship two weeks ago in West Windsor, N.J. In its first year of membership in the NEC, top-seeded BU claimed the title with wins over Stonehill (4-0), Le Moyne (4-1) and St. Francis (Pa.) (4-1).  

The Bearcats' team features seven underclassmen and the entire lineup will return next year for 10th-year head coach Nick Zieziula said. Four players earned all-conference recognition in the NEC: sophomore No. 1 William Morais Binnie (first team singles and doubles), freshman No. 2 Filipe Costa (second team singles), sophomore No. 3 Ronin Lotlikar (second team singles) and sophomore No. 6 James McPherson (first team doubles). The team's most veteran player, junior Kyle Weekes, was the MVP of the NEC Championship. 

Michigan earned an at-large NCAA bid after finishing as the runner-up at the Big Ten Tournament Championship, falling to No. 1-ranked Ohio State 4-1 in the final. The Wolverines are 10-2 in their last 12 matches, with both losses coming to the Buckeyes. Michigan has three wins over ranked teams in the last month, two over Michigan State twice (No. 18, No. 19) and Illinois (No. 19).

Michigan makes its eighth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 33rd overall. The Wolverines made back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight in 2022 and 2023.

This will be the first meeting between Michigan and Binghamton in program history.

BU Men's Tennis NCAA Division I Championship Appearances
2003 (Minneapolis, Minn.) – lost to No. 11 seed Minnesota 4-0
2004 (Oxford, Miss.) – lost to No. 8 Ole Miss 4-0
2005 (Baton Rouge, La.) – lost to No. 10 LSU 4-0
2008 (Tulsa, Okla.) – lost to No. 10 Tulsa 4-0
2009 (College Station, Texas) – lost to No. 15 Texas A&M 4-0
2010 (Lexington, Ky.) – lost to No. 24 Georgia Tech 4-1
2011 (Los Angeles, Calif.) – lost to No. 12 UCLA 4-0
2012 (Oxford, Miss.) – lost to No. 13 Ole Miss 4-0
2013 (Athens, Ga.) – lost to No. 2 Georgia 4-0
2024 (Manhattan, N.Y.) - vs. No. 26 Michigan