ITHACA, N.Y. – Sophomores Quoc-Daniel Nguyen and Jason Luu each won their respective singles and teamed up to win their No. 2 doubles match Sunday, but the men's tennis dropped a 4-3 decision to Memphis on Sunday in a matchup of nationally ranked teams at Reis Tennis Center.
 
The 23rd-ranked Big Red, which is the highest ranking the program has ever held, started the day by taking the doubles point. Luu and Nguyen defeated Joe Salisbury and David O'Hare, 8-6, and the No. 1 team of junior Venkat Iyer and sophomore Alex Sidney handed Memphis' Cedric De Zutter and Connor Glennon a 8-4 loss to give Cornell an early lead.
 
But the Big Red's seven-match winning streak came to a close after Memphis (5-4) won four of the six singles tilts in straight sets. Luu's win over David O'Leary at the No. 5 position also came in two sets, 6-4, 6-2. Ngyuen had to work a little hard at the No. 4 spot, outlasting Johnny Grimal, 6-4, 3-6, (10-6), in the day's only third-set tiebreaker. Both Nguyen and Luu improved to a team-best 8-1 in singles play.
 
It was only the second time the programs have ever met, with the Tigers also winning the first meeting in 2003 by an identical 4-3 score. Cornell hits the road next weekend for three matches at the Blue-Gray Invitational in Montgomery, Ala.
 
No. 69 MEMPHIS 4, No. 23 CORNELL 3
Sunday; at Reis Tennis Center; Ithaca, N.Y.
Singles
1. Connor Glennon (M) def. Venkat Iyer, 6-3, 6-2
2. #79 Joe Salisbury (M) def. Sam Fleck, 6-1, 6-4
3. Lukas Vrnak (M) def. Alex Sidney, 6-2, 6-4
4. Quoc-Daniel Nguyen (C) def. Johnny Grimal, 6-4, 3-6, (10-6)
5. Jason Luu (C) def. David O'Leary, 6-4, 6-2
6. David O'Hare (M) def. Kyle Berman, 6-2, 7-5
Doubles
1. Iyer/Sidney (C) def. Cedric De Zutter/Glennon, 8-4
2. Luu/Nguyen (C) def. O'Hare/Salisbury, 8-6
3. Grimal/O'Leary (M) def. Berman/Fleck, 8-3
Records: Cornell 9-2, Memphis 5-4.