VESTAL, N.Y. – Binghamton men's tennis is set to kick off its quest for a third consecutive Northeast Conference title when it hosts Niagara University on Friday, Jan. 23, at 6 p.m. and Navy on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 2 p.m. at the Lane – Starke Tennis Center.

Head coach Nick Zieziula enters his 12th season in command of the team this spring. Zieziula earned his first NEC Coach of the Year award after leading the Bearcats to a second consecutive conference championship in 2024-25.

You can stream all home matches on Save My Play this season.

ON THE SCHEDULE
The Bearcats are set to compete against 21 teams this spring, with seven of them coming in NEC play.

"It's awesome that we get to open the season with three home matches," coach Zieziula stated.

After this weekend, Binghamton hosts Bucknell Jan. 30, and then heads to West Point, N.Y., on Feb. 8 to take on Fairfield at 10 a.m. and then Army at 2 p.m.

Binghamton will then travel to fellow in-state university Buffalo on Friday, the 13th, before taking on their first conference opponent of the season, Stonehill, on Sunday. Feb. 15.

The Bearcats will then begin a five-match road trip at St. John Feb. 18, then compete against Tulsa in Ithaca, N.Y., on Feb. 21, and Monmouth on Feb. 22. Bing wrap up the road trip against Quinnipiac on Feb. 28 and Brown on Mar. 1.

After that, Binghamton hosts Colgate on Mar. 7, heads on the road to Pennsylvania to play Duquesne on Mar. 14, and NEC opponent Saint Francis on Mar. 15. Binghamton wraps up their final non-conference match at home against NJIT on Mar. 22

The Bearcats enter the final stretch of the season on the road against NEC opponents FDU on Mar. 28, LIU on Mar. 29, Mercyhurst on Apr. 2, and Chicago State on Apr. 4. Binghamton will wrap up the regular season with their senior day match on Apr. 11.

"I think a lot of (NEC) teams are in flux and have good things going for them, so it'll be interesting to see how everyone performs this spring," coach Zieziula said.

THE BEARCATS
The Bearcats will have some new faces this season after three players graduated from last year's championship roster.

The squad will be led by senior Ronin Lotlikar, who sits in the top 10 in program history in both singles and doubles wins. "Ronin has the opportunity to finish pretty high on both the single and doubles records list," coach Zieziula stated. "He's gotten much more consistent match in and match out, so it'll be something to watch out for this season."

Seniors Jonathan Arbittier, Andrew Fang, James McPherson, and junior Andre Ajed will bring the veteran leadership to the squad, while freshman Harry Liao and Giannis Sakkas look to make an immediate impact for the team.

"They're going to be a big part of our starting lineup this spring," coach Zieziula said about his two freshman athletes.

Additionally, Zieziula added Dylan Breen to the team from Siena this spring.

"Dylan is a tough competitor with a lot of dual match experience," coach Zieziula said about the incoming junior. "On the doubles side of things, he has had some very strong results and on the singles side of things, he has some weapons and we know his best tennis is ahead of him."

FALL PREPARATIONS
Binghamton competed in five events across the fall slate, hosting three invitationals, including the ITA New England Regional event and competing at Army and Navy colleges.

"We played a lot of matches in the fall," coach Zieziula stated. "That was our big priority. Getting our guys exposed to as much match play as possible."

"It was big for our freshmen to get as many reps as possible," coach Zieziula mentioned. "I think playing a lot of matches allowed us to see what we needed to work on in the preseason and be ready to go come match time."

THE OUTLOOK
The Bearcats seek to go a perfect 3-for-3 at the championship event since joining the NEC back in 2023-24.

"I think we set the message very clear at the start of the year that the expectation is for us to win," coach Zieziula stated. "From there, we stopped talking about it and just focused on what we need to do day in and day out."

"It's a completely different team and a completely different challenge for us this spring. I'm excited for the mountain we're going to have to climb and the obstacles we're going to have to face this year."