ITHACA, N.Y. — The men's tennis team won a trio of three-set singles matches on Friday to close out a 4-1 victory against Princeton at Reis Tennis Center. It marked the Big Red's first Ivy League victory of the season.
 
Cornell (16-3, 1-1 Ivy League), which is ranked 24th this week by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, continues its recent success against the Tigers with its ninth victory in the teams' last 14 meetings. It marks the second 4-1 victory over Princeton this year, with the first coming during the ECAC Indoor Championships in February.
 
The day started with a bang for the Big Red, with the No. 1 doubles tandem of seniors Colin Sinclair and Chris Vrabel teaming up to defeat the 25th-ranked pairing in the country. Sophomore David Volfson and freshman Lev Kazakov then clinched the day's opening point with a 7-5 victory from the No. 3 position.
 
Princeton (10-10, 0-1) won the only two-set singles match on the day, tying the score at 1 from the No. 6 position. But Cornell answered to take the lead back with Sinclair surging to win in three sets at No. 1 — his first completed match from the top spot of the season.
 
Vrabel then pushed the score to 3-1 by winning six straight in the third set of his match at No. 3. With the matches at Nos. 4 and 5 going to a third set, Kazakov — recently dubbed 108th nationally in the ITA's singles rankings — wrapped up Cornell's victory with a
6-4 win in third set at No. 2.
 
The Big Red continues Ivy League play at 1 p.m. Sunday, when it visits Penn in Philadelphia.
 
#24 CORNELL 4, PRINCETON 1
Singles
1. Colin Sinclair (C) def. Thomas Colautti, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
2. #108 Lev Kazakov (C) def. Alexander Day, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
3. Chris Vrabel (C) def. Kial Kaiser, 6-7, 6-3, 6-0
4. Pietro Rimondini (C) vs. Luke Gamble, DNF  
5. Daniel Grunberger (C) vs. Jimmy Wasserman, DNF
6. Payton Holden (P) def. Bernardo Casares Rosa, 6-3, 7-6
Doubles
1. Sinclair/Vrabel (C) def. #25 Day/Gamble, 6-4
2. Casares/Al Hill (C) vs. Colautti/Holden, DNF
3. Kazakov/Volfson (C) def. Carcione/Vives, 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3), Singles (6,1,3,2)