Navy Box (PDF) | Binghamton Box (PDF)

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The George Mason University men's tennis team (2-4) fell in matches to Navy and Binghamton on a snowy Saturday at the U.S. Naval Academy.
 
"I'm happy with how the guys competed today," head coach Jimmy Davis said. "We gave it our all and a double header against two very strong opponents was a great test for our fitness and competitive composure. These matches are meant to prepare us for conference, and we're continuing to make improvements every match we play. We found some new areas that need work and we're excited to get back to practice and get better so these close matches can fall in our favor."
 
Navy 4, Mason 1
In the opening match of the day, the host Midshipmen (14-4) managed the Patriots in a 4-1 decision.
 
Mason dropped the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches. The Patriot duo of Pally Ray and Carter Bradford led 4-3 at No. 3 doubles, but they did not finish after the doubles point was clinched by Navy.
 
Navy then took No. 5 singles to go up 2-0.
 
Bradford won at No. 4 singles to improve his season dual record to 5-0. It was his first go round at No. 4 after playing No. 6 for much of the spring. Bradford won his first set 6-2 over Gabriel Pilones, then claimed a 6-4 victory in the second to earn the win.
 
Navy then won at No. 6 and No. 1 to clinch the match. Sophomore Edward Ayers was tied 4-4 in his second set at No. 3 singles, but did not complete his match after Navy won its fourth point.
 
Binghamton 4, Mason 3
Binghamton squeaked out a 4-3 victory in Saturday's nightcap. Mason won the doubles point, but Binghamton took four of six singles matches to claim the win.
 
In doubles, Mason's No. 2 duo of Jakob Nielsen and Pally Ray opened the scoring with a 7-5 victory. After Binghamton won at No. 3 doubles, Mason's No. 1 pair of freshman Ryan Charles and senior Daniel Gutierrez pushed their opponents to the brink, ultimately winning 7-6 to give the Green & Gold the 1-0 lead. Charles and Gutierrez are a solid 3-2 at No. 1 doubles so far this season.
 
In singles, Gutierrez came through again, winning in straight sets (6-1, 6-1) at No. 5 to put the Patriots up, 2-0.
 
Binghamton claimed wins at No. 6 and No. 1 to knot the score at 2-2. Then, Ayers made quick work of his opponent Sebastian Quiros (6-1, 6-3) to put Mason back up 3-2.
 
From there, freshman Carter Bradford dropped his first singles match of the year to BU's Inico Saez. He won the first set 6-1, fell in the second, 6-3, and then dropped a 7-6 third set tiebreaker.
 
With the score tied 3-3, sophomore Jakob Nielsen also went three sets at No. 2. He lost 6-2 in the first and won 6-4 in the second. But Nath of Binghamton won the final set 6-4 to clinch the match for the Bearcats.
 
The Green & Gold return to action on Friday (February 23) at noon vs. James Madison in Montclair, Va.
 
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