ITHACA, N.Y. — In a winner-take-all showdown for the Ivy League women's tennis title, the Big Red came up on the short end of a 5-2 decision on Sunday against Princeton at Reis Tennis Center.
Cornell (15-8, 4-3 Ivy) was up a couple breaks early in doubles play, but the Tigers fought back to win the match's opening point. Junior
Alexandra D'Ascenzo tied the match at 1 with a 6-4, 6-3 win at the #2 position, capping her season with an outstanding 17-5 record in singles.
The 63rd-ranked Big Red won the first set in three of the other singles matches, but all ultimately needed a third set to decide a winner. Princeton won the next three to reach completion to clinch the match. Sophomore
Priyanka Shah won a super tiebreaker at #5 to account for the Big Red's second point, ending the season on an incredbile 12-match winning streak and a perfect 7-0 record in Ivy League matches.
With Penn defeating Columbia elsewhere on Sunday, Princeton (13-9, 5-2 Ivy) — which entered the weekend ranked 50th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association — won the Ivy League title outright and will advance to the NCAA tournament for a third straight year.
Before the match, the Big Red held a ceremony to honor its two seniors,
Jane Stewart and
Dena Tanenbaum. Cornell ended the season with a program-record 15 victories and a winning record in Ivy League play for the first since 1996.
#50 PRINCETON 5, #63 CORNELL 2Singles1. Amanda Muliawan (P) def.
Marika Cusick, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
2.
Alexandra D'Ascenzo (C) def. Katrine Steffensen, 6-4, 6-3
3. Sivan Krems (P) def.
Lizzie Stewart, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. Caroline Joyce (P) def.
Mariko Iinuma, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
5.
Priyanka Shah (C) def. Nicole Kalhorn, 4-6, 7-5, 2-2(7-4)
6. Alanna Wolff (P) def.
Jane Stewart, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
Doubles1. Cusick/D'Ascenzo (C) vs. Muliawan/Dorothy Tang, DNF (4-3)
2. Joyce/Kalhorn (P) def. Shah/L. Stewart, 6-4
3. Emily Hahn/Catalina Vives (P) def. Iinuma/
Madison Stevens, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2), Singles (2,3,4,1,5,6)
Records: Cornell 15-8, 4-3 Ivy; Princeton 13-9, 5-2 Ivy
