ITHACA, N.Y. – Sophomores Sam Fleck and Alex Sidney won singles matches in the top half of the order, but the men's tennis team came up shot on Friday in its home finale, losing 5-2 to Princeton at Reis Tennis Center.
 
Fleck's victory at No. 2 came against Matt Spindler, where he got stronger as the match went on for a 7-5, 6-1 victory. The Big Red was already on the brink at that point, though, with Princeton winning the first two doubles matches and the singles tilts at the Nos. 4 and 6 positions to take an early 3-0 lead.
 
After Fleck's victory, the Tigers locked up the match with Matija Pecotic's win at the No. 1 spot. The Ivy League's top player who is also ranked seventh in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association won his 21st consecutive league match, but junior Venkat Iyer gave him a stern battle. The foes were even at three games apiece in the first set before Pecotic won the final three games, then a tiebreaker was needed in the second set to sew up the Tigers' victory.
 
Cornell (13-8, 2-4 Ivy League), ranked 51st got its second point from Sidney at the No. 3 position. Sidney blanked Zack McCourt in the first set, then held on for a 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 victory. No. 48 Princeton improved to 16-5 overall and 5-1 in the Ivy League with the victory.
 
The Big Red will conclude its season at 2 p.m. Sunday at Penn.
 
No. 48 PRINCETON 5, No. 51 CORNELL 2
Friday; at Reis Tennis Center; Ithaca, N.Y.
Singles
1. No. 7 Matija Pecotic (P) def. Venkat Iyer, 6-3, 7-6
2. Sam Fleck (C) def. Matt Spindler, 7-5, 6-1
3. Alex Sidney (C) def. Zack McCourt, 6-0, 4-6, 6-1
4. Dan Richardson (P) def. Quoc-Daniel Nguyen, 6-2, 6-4
5. Matt Siow (P) def. Jason Luu, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
6. Jonathan Carcione (P) def. Kyle Berman, 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
1. No. 85 McCourt/Pecotic (P) def. Iyer/Sidney, 8-5
2. Dan Davies/Spindler (P) def. Luu/Nguyen, 8-3
3. Augie Bloom/Siow (P) vs. Berman/Fleck, 5-4 (DNF)
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1), Singles (4,6,2,1,3,5)
Records: Princeton 16-5, 5-1 Ivy; Cornell 13-8, 2-4 Ivy.