ITHACA, N.Y. — Freshman Pietro Rimondini and senior Bernardo Casares Rosa won their respective singles matches in three sets, and the men's tennis team defeated Drake, 4-3, on Saturday at Reis Tennis Courts.
 
Cornell, which entered the weekend ranked 18th in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, finished the non-league portion of its schedule with an impressive 15-2 record. The win over Drake (12-9) also marked the fourth time the Big Red has come out on a top by a 4-3 margin.
 
Drake started the day by winning the doubles point, then it won the No. 1 singles match. Cornell broke the match back to 2-2 with wins from senior Colin Sinclair at No. 3 and freshman Lev Kazakov at No. 2. The victory pushed Sinclair to 12-0 on the year in singles play.
 
The Bulldogs put the Big Red on the brink with a win at No. 4 via second-set tiebreaker. The remaining two matches went to third sets, and Rimondini locked up his match at No. 5 to put the balance of the match on Casares' shoulders at No. 6. He broke serve to go 4-2 in the third, then served out to improve 10-1 in singles matches this season.
 
Cornell will now shift its attention to the Ivy League schedule, starting with a highly-anticipated matchup against defending champion Columbia at 1 p.m. Saturday in New York.
 
#18 CORNELL 4, DRAKE 3
Singles
1. #61 Vinny Gillespie (D) def. David Volfson, 6-0, 6-1
2. Lev Kazakov (C) def. Calum MacGeoch, 6-4, 6-3
3. Colin Sinclair (C) def. Ben Stride, 6-2, 6-2
4. Tom Hands (D) def. Chris Vrabel, 6-4, 7-6
5. Pietro Rimondini (C) def. Barny Thorold, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
6. Bernardo Casares Rosa (C) def. Bayo Phillips, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles
1. Sinclair/Volfson (C) vs. Phillips/Thorold, DNF (5-4)
2. Gillespie/Hands (D) def. Casares/Al Hill, 6-3
3. MacGeoch/Ben Wood (D) def. Rimondini/Vrabel, 6-1