The Baruch College Bearcats were in full swing this week with four teams making plays: men’s tennis, volleyball, baseball and women’s softball.

Men’s tennis

The men’s tennis team kicked off its season scorching hot, boasting a 4-1 record after defeating both the Purchase College Panthers and Manhattanville College Valiants this week.

The team kicked off its week on March 16 with a 7-2 win against the Panthers. The team went 2-1 in its doubles matches; Jim Bauer and Juan Paredes took the second match 8-6 and Philip Dwan and Liam Cooper took the third match 8-2.

The men took the singles matches 5-1. Bauer and Christopher Tham had tough matches, with Tham winning the first match in three sets and Bauer losing the second.

Bauer’s game was so close that the first set went into tiebreakers, with Bauer falling 7-1, and the third set was decided by a mere two points when Bauer fell by a heartbreaking 13-11 margin.

Paredes, Nicholas Santiago, George Arteaga and Mathias Davila each swept their matches to seal the deal for the Bearcats.

The Bearcats won by the same 7-2 margin in its March 17 game against the Valiants, scoring a similar 2-1 in the doubles matches and 5-1 in the singles matches.

Tham and Santiago spearheaded the first doubles match, while Bauer and Paredes led the way in the second doubles match.

Tham, Bauer, Santiago, Arteaga and Davila each propelled the Bearcats to another victory.

In addition to these wins, the Bearcats were picked by CUNY Athletic Conference coaches as the favorites to repeat as the CUNYAC champions. Tham was voted preseason player of the year following his 2022 CUNYAC Player of the Year honor.

Men’s volleyball

The men’s volleyball team had mixed results this week, losing to the Hunter College Hawks on March 14, but defeating the Lehman College Lightning on March 16.

Despite losing versus the Hawks, 3-1, the Bearcats kept the game close, with no set being decided by double digits, while sets one and three were within three points. The Bearcats suffered saddening losses in both of those, though.

Jack Centeno led the way for Baruch with 16 kills, while Defeng Han posted 25 assists. The Bearcats posted .325 hitting percentage on the outing.

The Bearcats came back against the Lightning, winning 3-0. The Bearcats won the first two sets by an identical 25-15 while winning the third 25-16.

Han, Andrew Ubanwa and Juancarlos Henriquez led the way in kills with six each, while Ryan Oommen posted 17 assists. The Bearcats posted a .28 hitting percentage.

Baseball

After suffering from a string of losses at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic in Fort Myers, Florida, the Bearcats baseball team continued its slump against the Maritime College Privateers, losing both matches of a March 18 doubleheader.

The first match saw the Bearcats fall in a low-scoring 2-1 loss. Nathaniel Demchak pitched for six of the seven innings, notching four strikeouts but allowing four hits and two runs. Robert Wakely hit a home run for Baruch’s only run.

The second half of the doubleheader saw the Bearcats fall in a 4-2 loss. Jeremy Ramirez pitched six of the seven innings, allowing six hits and four runs but scoring five strikeouts. Brian Hwang hit a home run, allowing Kenneth Taveras to score.

Softball

After a dominant doubleheader against the University of Valley Forge to kick off its season, the softball team has lost its last four games to bring its record to 2-4.

The Bearcats played a doubleheader against the New Jersey City University Gothic Knights, losing the first half of an extra eighth inning, 5-4. Carly Quint notched five strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched.

The Bearcats lost the second half, 3-1. Caroline Gallagher allowed 10 hits and two runs in six innings pitched, while Julia Cuttone scored the Bearcats’ point.

The second doubleheader of the week against the Notre Dame of Maryland University Gators saw the Bearcats suffer massive losses.

The Bearcats lost 11-2 in the first game. Quint allowed 13 hits and 11 runs in four innings pitched but notched three strikeouts. She and Danielle Petrunti scored Baruch’s runs.

The second half left the Bearcats scoreless, 8-0. Gallagher allowed eight runs and eight hits in five innings pitched; she also posted five strikeouts on the outing.