NEW YORK – The women's tennis team opened Ivy League play with a 6-1 loss to Columbia, ranked 33rd in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, on Saturday at Dick Savitt Tennis Center.
 
Freshman Marika Cusick accounted for the Big Red's lone point with a victory via injury forfeit at the No. 2 singles position. Cusick won the first set of her match against Bianca Sanon in a tiebreaker before the match was halted.
 
Unfortunately for Cornell (7-4, 0-1 Ivy League), Columbia (12-2, 1-0) had already built an insurmountable lead by that point. The Lions opened the day with two handy victories in doubles, the won five of six singles matches in straight sets.
 
The Big Red continues league play next weekend with a trip to Dartmouth on Friday and Harvard on Saturday.
 
#33 COLUMBIA 6, CORNELL 1
Saturday's results; at Dick Savitt Tennis Center; New York
Doubles
1. #14 Bianca Sanon/Kanika Vaidya (Clm) vs. Marika Cusick/Alexandra D'Ascenzo, unfinished (7-4)
2. #30 Crystal Leung/Tina Jiang (Clm) def. Christy Kung/Dena Tanenbaum, 8-2
3. Iona Alecsiu/Tiana Takenaga (Clm) def. Lauren Frazier/Kristin Quill, 8-1
Singles
1. #71 Vaidya (Clm) def. Tanenbaum, 6-3, 6-1
2. Cusick (Cor) def. Sanon, 7-6(2), retired (injury)
3. Jiang (Clm) def. D'Ascenzo, 6-2, 6-1
4. Leung (Clm) def. Frazier, 6-1, 6-1
5. Takenaga (Clm) def. Kung, 6-3, 6-0
6. Alecsiu (Clm) def. Quill, 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3), Singles (3,4,1,6,5,2)
Records: Cornell 7-4, 0-1 Ivy League; Columbia 12-2, 1-0