Men's tennis and golf teams reach NCAA tournaments

Men's tennis player Akshay Rao, Women's tennis player Justina Hakimi.

Led by its traditionally strong men's tennis and golf teams, Binghamton produced a historic spring season in athletics. Both teams, which have enjoyed parallel success in the last decade, earned NCAA post-season invitations at the highest level of collegiate competition.

Men's tennis The men's tennis team (17-10), coached by conference coach of the year Michael Starke, became the first Binghamton team to advance to the NCAA Division I tournament. With sophomore sensation Akshay Rao at the helm, BU won nine of its final 10 regular-season matches and claimed the program's first America East Conference title with a thrilling 4-3 victory over SUNY rival Stony Brook. The Bearcats then watched as the entire NCAA bracket was unveiled live on ESPNews. The team was sent to Minneapolis to take on the 11th-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers, where its season came to an end with a 4-0 first-round defeat. Rao and senior first doubles partner Brad Sherwood did, however, raise some eyebrows with an unlikely 8-6 win over a Minnesota pair that has just beaten the doubles team from the nation's top team -- Illinois. Rao, who earned praise from the Minnesota coach as the "best player on the court," finished his year at Binghamton with a 32-5 singles record and top-15 status in the region. He was named America East Player of the Year and the University's Male Athlete of the Year.

The Bearcats golf team celebrates its 2003 America East Conference Championship. (From left) Associate Coach Nick Lasky, Joe Kunz, Adam Fuchs, Keith Hendrickson, Head Coach John Affleck, Brad Moulton and Kevin Crawford. Golf Not to be outdone, head coach John Affleck and his golf team took the tough road to the NCAA tournament, earning an at-large selection after a remarkable spring season. The Bearcats won two tournaments and finished runner-up in two more to push their way near the top of the Northeast Region. After topping rivals Yale and Rhode Island in back-to-back invitationals, BU won the America East Championship by a whopping 18 strokes, all but clinching the team's NCAA selection. At the NCAA East Regional in Auburn, Ala., the Bearcats were seeded 25th but placed 22nd, ahead of Yale and three other schools. Senior Adam Fuchs concluded his brilliant career with a scoring average under 75 and will likely be among the finest golfers in the University's history. Showing the team's unique depth throughout the lineup, four of Affleck's five players were selected as All-New England all-stars, and the fifth -- freshman Kevin Crawford -- was the team's low man at the 54-hole NCAA regional. Crawford fired a final-round even par 72 and he and fellow freshman Brad Moulton were the team's top two players in the spring season. Affleck stepped down after his 15th season as varsity golf coach, having earned unparalleled success (see Affleck story, opposite). His 2002-03 team won more tournaments (seven) than any other Division I program in the country and his peers honored him as America East Coach of the Year. Coupled with his coaching honors at the Division III and II levels, the award gives Affleck that rare distinction at all three divisional levels.

Women's tennis

The women's tennis team (16-8) was nearly as dominant in the spring. With America East Coach of the Year Jamie Campbell in charge, BU rattled off a school-record 13 consecutive victories and advanced to the conference championship match. Freshman Justina Hakimi went 18-8 at number-one singles and was selected as an America East all-star. Along the way, the Bearcats defeated strong programs at James Madison and Bucknell, along with conference foes Albany and Stony Brook.

Softball and baseball

The softball and baseball teams struggled with the Northeast weather and ultimately were unable to qualify for their respective conference tournaments. Riding the right hand of first-team all-conference pitcher Michelle Weeks, the softball team won 17 games. Coach Holly Brown's squad was in contention for a playoff spot until ending the season with five straight losses -- all by two or fewer runs. The baseball team, coached by Tim Sinicki, started the spring by shocking Atlantic Coast Conference member Maryland with two victories, but the team was afforded only 10 home games on the 51-game schedule and an eight-game losing streak to end the season also kept it out of the post-season.

Lacrosse

Both lacrosse teams showed improvement in just their second seasons as varsity sports. The men's team, coached by Ed Stephenson, won four games and played conference champion Albany close in a 9-6 loss. The women also showed improvement under second-year coach Susan Frost.

Track

The track teams advanced four athletes to the IC4A and ECAC championships and, under the tutelage of head coach Mike Thompson, continued to compete in prestigious meets across the region.

-- John Hartrick