NEW YORK — Junior Alexandra D'Ascenzo and sophomore Priyanka Shah teamed up to win a doubles match and their respective singles matches, but the women's tennis team came up short on an upset bid on Saturday in a 4-3 loss to nationally ranked Columbia at Dick Savitt Tennis Center.
 
Cornell (11-6, 0-1 Ivy League) got off to a strong start by winning the doubles point, with D'Ascenzo and Shah coming out on top at the No. 2 position. The No. 3 tandem of sophomore Madison Stevens and freshman Mariko Iinuma then clinched the opening point with a 7-5 victory.
 
Columbia (10-5, 1-0), which is ranked 40th in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, roared back with three straight-set singles victories to take a 3-1 lead. But Cornell immediately countered with D'Ascenzo breaking serve at 5-all in the second set at No. 2, then holding serve to close out the match. Meanwhile, sophomore Lizzie Stewart was in the midst of a marathon tiebreak in the second set of her No. 3 singles match. She outlasted her opponent, 10-8, to force a third set.
 
Sophomore Priyanka Shah fought back from a big deficit in the second set at No. 6, but her opponent ultimately forced a third set as well — meaning Cornell needed to win both to take the match. Shah eventually won her match in a third-set tiebreaker, but Columbia used a late break to win the other match and secure a 4-3 victory.
 
Cornell continues its Ivy League travels next weekend with matches at Harvard and Dartmouth.
 
#40 COLUMBIA 4, CORNELL 3
Singles
1. #26 Kanika Vaidya (Clm) def. Marika Cusick, 6-3, 6-2
2. Alexandra D'Ascenzo (Cor) def. Rima Asatarian, 6-4, 7-5
3. Alexandra Soloyev (Clm) def. Lizzie Stewart , 6-3, 6-7(8), 6-4
4. Star Makarome (Clm) def. Mariko Iinuma, 6-1, 6-3
5. Andrea Kevakian (Clm) def. Michelle Wang, 6-1, 6-3
6. Priyanka Shah (Cor) def. Adi Milstein, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6
Doubles
1. Asatarian/Soloyev (Clm) def. Cusick/L. Stewart, 6-2
2. D'Ascenzo/Shah (Cor) def. Milstein/Vaidya, 6-3
3. Iinuma/Madison Stevens (Cor) def. Kevakian/Makarome, 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3), Singles (1,5,4,2,3,6)
Records: Cornell 11-6, Columbia 10-5