WEST WINDSOR, N.J.  – Binghamton men's tennis began their quest for a third consecutive Northeast Conference title on Thursday evening., The No. 1 seeded Bearcats squared away against No. 8 Saint Francis, where they took the quarterfinal victory 4-1.

"After a long day of waiting around, it was good for the guys to have the maturity to come out and have a good start," head coach Nick Zieziula stated. "Credit to Saint Francis, they played this morning and then I thought they played really hard against us."

Doubles pairs Ronin Lotlikar/Harry Liao and Filipe Costa/Dylan Breen got the Bearcats rolling by winning the doubles point with both matches ending in 6-3 in Bing's favor.

In singles play, Liao claimed Binghamton's second point after winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, with Lotlikar finishing shortly after in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.

Clinching the match point for the Bearcats was Costa in the No. 2 slot, defeating his opponent 6-3, 6-2 to give Binghamton the quarterfinal victory.

"Really happy to see Lipe get the clinch," coach Zieziula said. "His family traveled all the way from Brazil so it was pretty special for him to be able to have that experience with his family."

The Bearcats will play in semifinal action tomorrow against No. 5 FDU, with a start time set for no earlier than noon. Binghamton dueled against the Knights earlier this season on the road, taking a close 4-3 match.