ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell squash teams officially open the 2009-10 season this weekend when they play host to a trio of matches at the Belkin International Squash Courts. The Big Red men will open against Western Ontario on Friday night before taking on Penn on Saturday and Princeton on Sunday. The women, meanwhile, will battle Stanford on Friday before battling the Quakers and Tigers on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

For both teams, the weekend's matchups are critical toward maintaining their number six national ranking. On the men's side, Western Ontario is in ninth, with Penn seventh and Princeton second. For the women, Stanford stands ranked seventh, right behind the Big Red, with Penn fourth and Princeton atop the national rankings.

The Big Red men should be led by team captains Chris Sachvie and Mackay Claghorn, who anchored the first and seventh spots in the lineup during last year's national championships. The Big Red has all 11 players back from last season's team that competed in the national championships. Sachvie is the Big Red's top ranked returning player, standing 14th in the nation.

On the women's side, captains Lauren Sachvie and Liza Stokes held down the fourth and sixth spots in the lineup from last year's national championships. The Big Red returns nine players from its 11 who competed at the national championships. Shivange Paranjpe is the Big Red's top-ranked player, standing 25th in the preseason rankings.

Action on the weekend opens up on Friday at 6 p.m., with the men facing Western Ontario and the women battling Stanford. On Saturday, both teams will take on Penn at 2 p.m., while the weekend comes to a close on Sunday with a noon battle against Princeton for both squads.