ITHACA, N.Y. — The newly ranked women's tennis team will return to the friendly confines of Reis Tennis Center for the first time during Ivy League play this weekend when it hosts Brown at noon Saturday and Yale at noon Sunday.
 
Cornell (12-7, 1-2 Ivy League) entered the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's national rankings at #71 this week after a dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 victory at 54th-ranked Harvard on Saturday. Junior Alexandra D'Ascenzo fought off a match point in the second set of her No. 2 singles match against the Crimson, then forced a third set and ended up winning. A few courts away, sophomore Priyanka Shah also forced a third set and dominated the finale of her No. 6 match to clinch for the Big Red.
 
Shah then pushed her individual singles winning streak to eight matches the next day at 49th-ranked Dartmouth, but that was all the Big Red could muster in a 6-1 loss to the Big Green. Shah now has 11 singles victories on the season, with D'Ascenzo and sophomore Lizzie Stewart tied for the team lead with 13. The doubles team of sophomore Madison Stevens and freshman Mariko Iinuma has won its last five decisions from the No. 3 position, though neither of their matches last weekend were completed.
 
This is the first time Cornell has been ranked since it was tabbed 75th on April 15, 2015 as it headed into the final weekend of its season. Coincidentally, the Big Red's first opponent this weekend has also moved into the national rankings this week — #67 Brown (13-7, 1-1). The ascension is due to a 4-3 victory over defending league champion Princeton last Friday. Sophomore Alyza Bennotto is ranked 106th in the country in singles, where she has won 10 of her last 11 matches from primarily the No. 2 position. Junior Dayna Lord is Brown's No. 1 singles entry.
 
The Bears holds a 27-10 lead in the all-time series, including a 4-1 non-league victory on Feb. 5 at the ECAC Indoor Championships. Cornell has won three of the last four Ivy League matches between the teams, including a 4-3 victory last season when Stewart clinched the match with a win at No. 4 singles. Just three of the last 18 meetings between the squads have featured a margin of victory greater than two points.
 
Yale (7-9, 1-1) is unranked, but coming off a 4-3 victory over then-#69 Penn last Friday. The Bulldogs then dropped a 5-2 decision on Saturday, giving them four losses in their last six matches. Senior Madeleine Hamilton competes at No. 1 singles and defeated a nationally ranked opponent from Rice in late March. Junior Sherry Li has won seven of her last 10 singles matches from primarily the middle of the order.
 
Yale leads the all-time series with Cornell, 31-4, including a narrow 4-3 decision during Ivy League play last season. The Bulldogs had a 17-match winning streak in the series snapped Feb. 6, 2015 in a first-round match at the ECAC Indoor Championships. It marked the first time Cornell defeated then-#48 Yale since April 12, 1997, and it was the first of three Big Red victories over ranked teams last season.
 
Both of this weekend's matches are free and open to the public.