NEW YORK – The men's tennis team knocked off a nationally ranked squad for the first time this season with its 5-2 victory over St. John's at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.
 
The 72nd-ranked Big Red (3-1) swept the three doubles matches against the 66th-ranked Red Storm (0-5). The sophomore duo of Jason Luu and Quoc-Daniel Nguyen started the match off with a 8-3 victory over Vasko Mladenov and Hugo Morth, ranked 52nd in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, at the No. 2 position. The No. 1 team of junior Venkat Iyer and sophomore Alex Sidney won its second match of the weekend.
 
Sidney then went on to win his match at No. 2 singles in straight sets to give the Big Red a 2-1 lead, then Nguyen cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Hugo Morth at the No. 5 spot. Sophomore Sam Fleck clinched the match for visiting Cornell with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Mike Lampa at No. 3. Sophomore Kyle Berman accounted for the Big Red's final point with a three-set win over Michael-John Every at No. 6. Fleck, Nguyen, Luu and Berman are all 3-1 in singles matches for the dual season.
 
Cornell will return to Ithaca for its first home matches of the season on Saturday, Feb. 10, when it hosts a doubleheader at Reis Tennis Center. The Big Red will take on Fordham at 1 p.m., followed by a match with Buffalo at 6 p.m.
 
No. 72 CORNELL 5, No. 66 ST. JOHN'S 2
Sunday; at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center; New York
Singles
1. Vasko Mladenov (SJ) def. Venkat Iyer, 6-3, 6-1
2. Alex Sidney (C) def. Valentin Mihai, 6-2, 6-2
3. Sam Fleck (C) def. Mike Lampa, 6-2, 6-2
4. Mark Mozer (SJ) def. Jason Luu, 4-6, 6-1, (10-5)
5. Quoc-Daniel Nguyen (C) def. Hugo Morth, 6-1, 6-1
6. Kyle Berman (C) def. Michael-John Every, 4-6, 6-2, (12-10)
Doubles
1. Iyer/Sidney (C) def. Mihai/Lampa, 8-5
2. Luu/Nguyen (C) def. No. 52 Mladenov/Morth, 8-3
3. Berman/Fleck (C) def. Every/Mozer, 8-4
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3), Singles (1,2,5,3,4,6)
Records: Cornell 3-1, St. John's 0-5