The wins keep coming and the confidence keeps building for the Boston University men’s tennis team.
The Terriers upset Binghamton University, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon at the Track and Tennis Center, giving them their third victory in as many games.
BU (9-8) overcame injury, bad calls and a tough opponent to earn one of its most important victories of the season and could possibly boost the team’s momentum heading into the final four weeks of the season.
After losing the doubles point in a tiebreaker, BU rallied back thanks to the play of senior co-captains Barrett Wolf and Ross Lohr, winning four of six singles matches to notch another point in the win column.
Wolf and junior Giulio Gallarotti lost at first doubles (6-8) in a match marked by questionable calls that went against the BU players.
Lohr and sophomore Charles Weinstein played strong at second doubles to win their match, 8-6. With the first two matches split, freshman Jeff Chudacoff and junior Jared Kobren, the third-double pairing, lost 8-9 (5-7) in a tiebreaker after losing the final three points.
Wolf later avenged the doubles loss at first singles, easily handling Faisal Mohamed – the same Bearcat to whom he lost his doubles match — by a score of 6-2, 6-2.
“I was a little irritated,” Wolf said. “I thought the guy made a few bad calls, and I don’t like being disrespected at our place. Rather than getting in a verbal argument with the guy, I kept it all inside and used it against him in singles.”
For the second match in a row, BU’s Charles Weinstein was forced to retire early due to cramps. The sophomore’s health issues, which are still a mystery to the team, have become a problem for the Terriers. Gallarotti, who has been sharp lately, fell, (2-6, 3-6), at third singles.
Trailing 3-1 with the final three singles matches still to be decided, BU could not afford another setback, and they responded by closing out the match strong. Junior Jared Kobren pulled out a gritty victory, 7-5, 7-5, at fourth singles. Rookie Jeff Chudacoff controlled fifth singles, 6-3, 6-2, making the most of his slicing forehand.
Lohr, with the pressure of deciding the tie, finished the match with a strong 6-0, 6-4 victory. BU coach Rocky Jarvis, confident in Lohr’s late-match maturity, said he knew his senior co-captain would do whatever it took to come away victorious.
“We sort of had this mythical belief that if [the match] was tied at three that Ross would win no matter what,” Jarvis said.
The victory, BU’s biggest highlight of the season, will help erase the Terriers’ image as longtime America East cellar dwellers. Lately, they have built a reputation for playing tougher schedules each year and putting up a fight against elite teams.
“I was so emotional about [the win] that I was almost incoherent at the end,” Jarvis said. “We all remember the lowest point of my first season three years ago when we went up to Binghamton and they beat us badly – annihilated us, I guess you could say. I’m proud of how much the guys have done to improve themselves. They’ve earned a lot of respect.”
Jarvis was especially impressed with Wolf’s strong play Sunday. Wolf has been an anchor for BU all season, drawing and beating some of the best athletes in the conference.
“He’s having a hell of a year,” Jarvis said. “He should be the MVP for the conference this year . . . . Barrett’s singles match was really the turning point today. It sent a shiver through [Binghamton] and gave a boost to all our guys.”
Wolf said he knew how important a BU win was, and said he was thrilled at how his team came together to pull out an upset victory.
“Hopefully, we can use this to build some momentum,” Wolf said. “I’ve been here for four years and we’ve never had a victory like this. It was really great.”