CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Cornell men's tennis team traveled to Cambridge this past weekend to compete in the ECAC Division I Indoor Tennis Championships hosted by Harvard. The championships provided top-notch competition for the Big Red, as all eight Ivy League teams as well as St. John's and Boston College took part in the three day event. Cornell finished the weekend 1-1, falling to fifth seed Penn on Saturday 4-3 before bouncing back and defeating the eight seed, St. John's, on Sunday by a score of 4-3.

Match 1 (Saturday):  #4 Cornell vs. #5 Pennsylvania

In a match pitting two teams that expect to compete for an Ivy League title, Penn was able to hold of the Big Red and win a nailbiter, 4-3. The match started with great promise for Cornell, who took the doubles point behind the strength of their top two pairings.

At first doubles, Kyle Doppelt and Josh Goldstein continued their dominance, scoring a decisive 8-3 victory over the top duo from Penn. After dropping the match at third doubles, the Big Red needed a victory from their second doubles team of Andy Gauthier and Jeremy Feldman. After Penn's Boym and Schwartz were able to thwart a match point with an incredible defensive scramble that saw them return an overhead smash, Feldman and Gauthier were able to regroup and showed great poise by coming back to take the match, 9-8, and secure the doubles point for the Big Red. 

In a testament to the team's incredible grit and determination, both singles points would be won in tough three setters by sophomore Jeremy Feldman and senior Marc Asch. Playing at the number six spot, Asch put the Big Red right back in the match by taking the final two sets. In a role reversal, he would win the two sets by a score of 6-2 and 6-2 after finding himself on the wrong side of the identical score in the first set.

Playing the longest match of the night, Feldman would prove his “never-say-die” attitude by securing his second victory of the match over Penn. Feldman, like Asch, dropped the first set, but was able to gain control in the second after a break at five all. Even with the match in hand for Penn, Feldman refused to give ground, as he battled Penn's Phil Law in what would become a marathon third set. Finally, he was able to outlast Law, and took the third set 10-8.

No. 5 Seed Penn def. No. 4 Seed Cornell, 4-3

Singles
1. Hicham Laalej (P) def. Jonathan Jaklitsch (C), 6-2, 6-2
2. Jonathan Boym (P) def. Joshua Goldstein (C), 6-4, 7-6
3. Adam Schwartz (P) def. Jonathan Fife (C), 6-3, 7-6
4. Jeremy Feldman (C) def. Phil Law (P), 4-6, 7-5, 10-8
5. Alex Vasin (P) def. Andy Gauthier (C), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
6. Marc Asch (C) def. Jason Lin (P), 2-6, 6-2, 6-2

Doubles
1. Goldstein/Kyle Doppelt (C) def. Laalej/Law (P), 8-3
2. Feldman/Gauthier (C) def. Boym/Schwartz (P), 9-8
3. Vasin/Lin (P) def. Mirza Klis/Asch (C), 8-4



Match 2 (Sunday):  #4 Cornell vs. #8 St. John's

On Sunday morning, Cornell, looking to avenge last night's defeat, would come out firing, sweeping the doubles point en route to a 4-3 victory over the Red Storm. At first doubles, Doppelt and Goldstein continued piling up victories this spring, winning 8-3 and remaining undefeated. With their tremendous play at the top of the doubles ladder, Doppelt and Goldstein not only have helped set the tone for the entire squad, but have put themselves on the verge of a national ranking. With a Feldman/Gauthier victory at second doubles, the Big Red wrapped up the doubles point, and the third doubles match remained unfinished.

Needing to take three of the singles matches to head back to East Hill with a victory, Jon Jaklitsch wasted no time in getting down to business. Playing at first singles, he dispatched a very tough Asaf Honig by scores of 6-2, 6-4. Andy Gauthier, playing in the fifth spot, also got off to a good start, winning his first set 7-5 and then breaking early in the second. He rode that break to a 6-3 score in the second and a victory.

Once again, the team would find themselves locked in a tussle, and in desperate need of one more victory to take the match. As has become their calling card so far this season, the Big Red would need a three set victory from one of their members, and this time, it would come from junior John Fife. After winning the first set 6-3, Fife would drop the second in a tiebreak. Fife would ensure that the team did not make the six hour ride home without a victory, using his superior physical fitness to take the third set 6-4 and give the Big Red that always elusive fourth point. 

Singles
1. Jonathan Jacklitsch (C) def. Asaf Honig (SJ), 6-2, 6-4
2. Milo Hauk (SJ) def. Joshua Goldstein (C), 6-1, 6-3
3. Jonathan Fife (C) def. Pavel Cerny (SJ), 6-3, 6-7, 6-4
4. Gustavo Loza (SJ) def. Jeremy Feldman (C), 6-3, 6-1
5. Andy Gauthier (C) def. Stefan Nikolic (SJ), 7-5, 6-3
6. Kent (SJ) def. Marc Asch (C), 6-3, 6-2

 Doubles
1. Goldstein/Kyle Doppelt (C) def. Nikolic/Derek Wallensteen (SJ), 8-3
2. Feldman/Gauthier (C) def. Loza/Cerny (SJ), 8-2
3. Hauk/Martin Kosut (SJ) vs. Asch/Mirza Klis (C), 6-4, DNF