ITHACA, N.Y. — The women's tennis team returns to the Empire State to play a pair of matches this weekend, including a Sunday clash with Lafayette at its own Reis Tennis Center. The Big Red travels to nationally ranked Syracuse for a match at noon Saturday to kick off the weekend.
 
Cornell is seeking its first victory of the season after coming up short against Mississippi State (5-2) and Brown (4-3) at last weekend's Kick-Off Classic in Hanover, N.H. The Big Red was 2-0 from the Nos. 3 and 6 singles positions, getting victories from Lizzie Stewart, Marika Cusick, Kristin Quill and Jane Stewart. Alexandra D'Ascenzo also won her only match of the weekend at the No. 4 spot against Brown's Nikita Uberoi. Junior Dena Tanenbaum is the Big Red's captain this season.
 
Syracuse (3-1) has jumped up to 53rd in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's national rankings after early-season victories over South Florida and Princeton — both ranked in the top 40. The Orange boasts a roster consisting of three seniors, and the doubles team of Valeria Salazar and Komal Safdar are ranked 59th in the country. The Orange leads the all-time series, 15-6, though this will be the programs' first meeting since March 10, 2011. The Big Red's last victory against Syracuse was a 4-3 decision on Feb. 15, 2008 in Ithaca.
 
Lafayette will kick off its season on Saturday at home against Niagara. The Leopards were 6-8 last season, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament before being eliminated by eventual champion Boston University. This will be the first meeting between the Big Red and the Leopards. The teams were scheduled to meet in a similar doubleheader on March 2, 2014, but inclement weather forced Lafayette to cancel the match. Sunday's match is free and open to the public.