ITHACA, N.Y. — The men's tennis team will play its final non-league match of the season at 2 p.m. Saturday, when it hosts Drake at Reis Tennis Center.
 
Cornell (14-2) is coming off an idle week following a program milestone the previous weekend, when it rallied past then-No. 7 Oklahoma for a 4-2 victory on March 12 in Norman, Okla. The victory represented the highest-ranked team the Big Red has ever defeated in its program history, and it led to the Big Red's ascension to 15th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's national rankings the following week. Cornell is now ranked 18th head into this weekend's match against Drake.
 
Now in its sixth season under the direction of Silviu Tanasoiu, the Director of Intercollegiate Tennis and the Savitt-Weiss Head Coach of Men's Tennis, the Big Red continues to be buoyed by a strong senior class and the performances of sophomore David Volfson and freshman Lev Kazakov toward the top of the singles lineup. Senior Colin Sinclair remains undefeated with an 11-0 record from the middle of the order in singles, and senior Bernardo Casares Rosa (9-1) and freshman Pietro Rimondini (8-1) have given the Big Red stability from the Nos. 5 and 6 positions. Cornell is also 22-13 in doubles matches, led by a 10-3 mark from the No. 1 position. Those 10 victories are split evenly between the tandems of Sinclair and Volfson, and Casares and fellow senior Chris Vrabel.
 
Drake (11-8) has won five of the last six Missouri Valley Conference championships, though it was spilled in last year's championship game by Wichita State. The Bulldogs were entering Wednesday night's match against Nebraska on the heels of a three-match swing through the San Diego Spring Break Tournament. After falling to the hosts, 4-2, Drake rebounded with a 4-3 victory over Arizona last Friday and a 4-2 triumph against Harvard on Saturday. The Crimson is the only other Ivy League team the Bulldogs are scheduled to play against this season.
 
The Bulldogs are 48-50 overall in singles, though Vinny Gillespie has been a standout at the No. 1 position with a 13-2 record. He is currently ranked 61st nationally in singles. Tom Hands is the only other player on Drake to have a winning record in singles, having gone 10-5 in matches from the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 spots. Drake is 23-26 in doubles, having the most success from the No. 2 position (9-5 overall and 5-0 since Feb. 26 when Gillespie started competing there instead of at No. 1).
 
This is only the second meeting all-time between the programs, with Drake capturing a 4-2 victory March. 6, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa. Sinclair won his match at the No. 2 singles position to account for one of Cornell's points.