Binghamton's Carousel Classic Expands with Adaptive Tennis
VESTAL, N.Y. – Binghamton University isn’t just staging a tennis tournament this weekend. It’s building a three‑day festival around the sport and throwing the gates wide open to the entire community.
The Carousel Classic returns to Recreation Park in Binghamton from Sept. 11–13, and the second edition is bigger, broader and bolder. Division I programs, college club teams, high school players and, for the first time, adaptive and wheelchair athletes will all share the same courts, the same schedule, and the same spotlight.
A Three-Day Tennis Festival
Play starts early and doesn’t let up.
On Friday, the first balls are struck at 9 a.m., with Division I and Collegiate Wheelchair matches running side by side. A youth clinic for Horace Mann students takes over from 11 a.m. to noon, then the competition resumes and carries through to around 5 p.m.
Saturday belongs to the adaptive community from the opening serve. An adaptive clinic launches the day at 9 a.m., leading into a full slate of matches from about 10:30 a.m. until late afternoon. Sunday begins around 9 a.m. as well, with tennis rolling through the day and Collegiate Club matches slotting in from noon.
Recreation Park will feel less like a standard college tournament and more like a campus without walls. Courts filled, kids on the sidelines, wheelchairs and able-bodied players trading rallies on neighboring courts. One sport, many entry points.
Adaptive Tennis Takes Center Stage
The standout change this year is clear: adaptive tennis is no longer a side note; it’s a pillar of the event.
Wheelchair programs from University of Michigan, University of Houston and Fresno State are making the trip, fielding both men’s and women’s teams. They join a Division I field that includes men’s squads from Binghamton, Buffalo and Bucknell, and women’s teams from Binghamton, Buffalo and Colgate.
The goal is simple but ambitious – give athletes with disabilities a meaningful competitive platform in a setting that also welcomes youth players, club competitors and top‑flight Division I talent. Same courts. Same schedule. Same stakes.
Men’s head coach Nick Zieziula knows what that means for the sport and the campus.
“We are proud to help this event grow and take a big step forward this year,” Zieziula said. “Across all of college sports, this weekend is going to be pretty unique, highlighting the best of what sports has to offer, bringing people together and creating community.”
The Bearcats’ staff and players won’t just be chasing wins. They’ll be running clinics, especially for kids who have never picked up a racquet.
“Teams will be competing hard against each other but also working together to put on some clinics to bring tennis to youth who maybe haven’t had the chance to try it,” Zieziula added. “On the men’s side, this is a great opportunity for us to get some early season matches with two programs at the top of their respective conferences.”
Community at the Core
An event this broad doesn’t happen on its own. It leans heavily on local backing.
Tennis Charities of Binghamton is actively searching for corporate sponsors and community partners to underwrite the weekend’s costs and support the youth and community programming that frame the competition. The clinics, the adaptive initiatives, the outreach to schools – all of it depends on that network.
Women’s head coach Paul Caceres sees the Classic as a chance to deepen those ties while giving his team a serious opening test.
“We welcome all the schools that will be participating in the Carousel Classic this year,” Caceres said. “We are looking forward to working with the students from Horace Mann Elementary school again this year for the youth clinic, and are also excited about the new adaptive programming. This will be the first tournament for us this fall on the women’s side, and it will be a great way to start the season with high level competition.”
New Faces, Fresh Season
For Binghamton’s women, the Carousel Classic doubles as a season launch and a debut stage. Four newcomers step into the lineup, joining returners such as Apara Khandare, Angel Walia and Samantha Jaros. The mix of experience and fresh energy will get an immediate test against quality opposition, with no soft landing.
On the men’s side, the Bearcats arrive with unfinished business. They finished second in the NEC Tournament last season and bring back key pieces in Andre Ajed, Filipe Costa and Harry Liao. Four new additions round out a roster built for deep, competitive matches across the weekend.
The stakes aren’t about rankings or titles just yet. This is about sharpening edges, testing combinations, and doing it in an environment that looks like the future of the sport – inclusive, busy, and buzzing.
By Sunday afternoon, the scorelines will fade. The sight of Division I contenders trading forehands next to wheelchair athletes, youth players and club teams might not.
If the Carousel Classic keeps growing at this pace, the question won’t be whether Binghamton can sustain it. It will be which programs around the country are willing to follow its lead.
