ITHACA, N.Y. — The men's and women's squash teams' final weekend of Ivy League play will also present the opportunity to improve its standing in the College Squash Association national rankings.
The Cornell men's team (5-6, 1-4 Ivy League) will slip four spots to No. 11 in the new national rankings later this week after suffering an upset loss to Dartmouth last weekend. With just the top eight teams earning berths in the Potter Cup, the top division of the CSA's national championships, the Big Red needs a strong finish to the season to move back up into the hunt. With No. 9 Franklin & Marshall defeating No. 3 Rochester last weekend, the national rankings are likely to be shuffled this week. But Cornell's first two opponents this weekend are in a similar situation to the Big Red, where wins are the only possible ticket into the top eight.
First up for the Big Red is a 5 p.m. Friday match at Penn (7-5, 2-3), which was most recently ranked 10th and figures to move up at least one spot due to the Cornell-Dartmouth result. The Quakers split last weekend's matches against Yale and Brown after suffering a narrow 5-4 loss against rival Princeton last Wednesday. Cornell is 20-37 all-time against Penn, including eight straight victories.
Cornell then returns home for a Sunday doubleheader at Belkin International Squash Courts. At 1 p.m., the Big Red takes on Princeton (5-5, 3-2), which figures to stay in the top eight this week. The Tigers lead the all-time series, 47-3, but the Big Red's last victory was also the last time Princeton visited Ithaca. The Tigers were undefeated and ranked No. 1 at the time before suffering a 5-4 to the Big Red. Immediately following the match against Princeton, Cornell will take on No. 23 Hobart. The Big Red is 44-5 in the series and has won the last six meetings without conceding a point.
The Big Red was originally scheduled to face another Potter Cup contender, Rochester, this evening — but inclement weather has pushed the match back to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11.
The Cornell women's team (8-3, 3-2) will be chasing program history weekend, seeking at least a fourth win in Ivy League play for the first time since the program gained varsity status in 1996. The Big Red has been cemented in the CSA's No. 6 ranking since November 2011, maintaining a perfect record and surrendering just three points in eight matches against teams immediately behind it this season — but now comes two opportunities to move up.
Up first for the Big Red at 5 p.m. Friday is a trip to No. 2 Penn (11-1, 5-0). The Quakers have proven to be national contenders, coming out on the winning side of a 5-4 score against No. 3 Harvard, but the losing side of the same score against No. 1 Trinity in mid-January. The Big Red has topped the Quakers just twice in 24 all-time meetings, with both of those occasions coming during the 2001-02 season. The teams met twice last season, with
Danielle Letourneau (No. 1),
Lindsay Seginson (No. 4) and
Rachel Au (No. 6) win their respective matches in a 6-3 affair at Belkin. Just a week later, Penn won in the Howe Cup quarterfinals, 8-1.
Cornell then returns home to face Princeton (8-2, 3-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Tigers figure to move up from fifth to fourth in the national rankings this week after toppling previous No. 4 Yale, 5-4, last Sunday. The Big Red has never beaten the Tigers in 22 all-time meetings, including a pair of matches in Princeton last season. Cornell then wraps up its regular season at 4 p.m. Sunday with a match against No. 25 William Smith. The Big Red is 12-0 all-time against the Herons.
