NEW YORK – The women's tennis team dropped a tight match with Brown on Friday, 4-2, in the opening round of the ECAC Indoor Championships at Dick Savitt Tennis Center.
 
Freshman Alexandra D'Ascenzo teamed with classmate Marika Cusick to win the No. 1 doubles match, then won her singles match for fourth-seeded Cornell (2-1). Fifth-seeded Brown (4-1) kicked off the day with a victory at No. 3 doubles, but freshman Dena Tanenbaum and junior Lauren Frazier answered with a 6-3 victory at the No. 2 spot. Cusick and D'Ascenzo then gave the Big Red a 1-0 lead after winning at No. 1 doubles.
 
The Bears won three singles matches in straight sets, countered by D'Ascenzo's 6-1, 6-3 victory over Nikita Oberoi at No. 3 singles. That left the score 3-2 in favor Brown with the last two singles matches going to tiebreakers. Frazier was ahead in her No. 4 match, but the Bears were able to win at the No. 2 position to clinch the match.
 
Cornell had a 14-match nonleague winning streak dating back to the 2011-12 season snapped.
 
With Binghamton and LIU-Brooklyn dropping out of the tournament, the modified format leaves Cornell with just one remaining match for the weekend. The fourth-seeded Big Red will take on sixth-seeded Dartmouth at 9 a.m. Saturday in the fifth-place match.
 
BROWN 4, CORNELL 2
Friday's results; at Dick Savitt Tennis Center; New York
Doubles
1. Marika Cusick/Alexandra D'Ascenzo (C) def. Hannah Camhi/Dayna Lord, 6-2
2. Lauren Frazier/Dena Tanenbaum (C) def. Sarah Kandath/Nikita Uberoi, 6-3
3. Ammu Mandalap/Ashley Noyes (B) def. Christy Kung/Shannon Comolli, 6-1
Singles
1. Lord (B) def. Tanenbaum, 6-2, 6-3
2. Camhi (B) def. Cusick, 6-4, 4-6, (10-6)
3. D'Ascenzo (C) def. Uberoi, 6-1, 6-3
4. Frazier (C) vs. Kandath, unfinished (6-4, 4-6, (7-6))
5. Mandalap (B) def. Kung, 6-1, 6-1
6. Noyes (B) def. Comolli, 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1), Singles (5,6,1,3,2)
Records: Cornell 2-1, Brown 4-1