HARTFORD, Conn. — The men's and women's squash teams waste no time getting into the thick of their schedules, opening the second half of the season with a challenging three-match road trip this weekend to Trinity, Yale and Brown.
 
The weekend kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday against the Bantams at Ferris Athletic Center, where the sixth-ranked Big Red (5-0) men have a chance to end top-ranked Trinity's 250-match unbeaten streak. The hosts have won the last 13 national titles, including a run last season that included a 6-3 victory over Cornell at Belkin International Squash Courts in Ithaca. But it was the most points the Big Red has scored in a match against the Bantams since its last victory against Trinity on Feb. 9, 1991. Trinity (6-0) holds a 20-4 lead in the all-time series.
 
Simultaneously, Cornell's seventh-ranked women's squad (5-1) will attempt to register its first victory against fifth-ranked Trinity (6-0) in their ninth all-time clash. The Bantams have secured 8-1 triumphs in each of the last two seasons.
 
Saturday's schedule doesn't get any easier against Yale. The Bulldogs' women's team (3-0) holds a 20-match winning streak heading into a Friday meeting with No. 6 Stanford. Yale defeated Harvard to capture the Howe Cup for the national championship in 2011, but the Crimson is still ranked No. 1 just ahead of Yale. The Big Red is 1-16 all-time against the Bulldogs, with the lone victory coming on Jan. 20, 2001.
 
On the men's side, Yale (3-0) is the two-time defending Ivy League champion after falling just short of the Potter Cup title against Trinity last season. Cornell dropped its lone meeting with the Bulldogs last season, falling to 2-49 in the all-time series. Both the men's and women's matches begin at noon.
 
The weekend concludes with Sunday matches at Brown, with the men squaring off against the Bears at 11 a.m., followed by the women's teams at 1 p.m. The Big Red men team has a nine-match winning streak in the all-time series against the Bears, including a perfect 7-0 mark under head coach Mark Devoy. Brown (3-0 heading into Saturday's match against Columbia is ranked 13th in the country.
 
The Bears' women's squad is 3-1 coming into Saturday's clash with Columbia with a ranking of 11th -- its lone loss coming to #10 Bates at the Harvard Round Robin. Cornell trails the all-time series 6-12, but has convincing 9-0 victories in its favor in each of the last three seasons.