ITHACA, N.Y. — Senior Andy Muran won both of his matches at the No. 1 position to highlight the men's squash team's split of its season-opening matches Saturday. The Big Red opened with a 9-0 sweep of Williams at Belkin International Squash Courts before taking off to Rochester for an 8-1 loss to the Yellowjackets at Lyman Squash Center.
 
After winning team Most Valuable Player honors last season, Muran started strong this year as the only Big Red competitor with a pair of wins Saturday. Both of his matches were decided in the minimum three games. Ranked 15th in the preseason Dunlop College Squash Rankings, Cornell challenged fifth-ranked Rochester in way that belied the final score. Perry Hanson was up two games at No. 3 before eventually falling in five. Illia Presman had match points in his match at No. 5, but also lost in the fifth. It marked the ninth time in the last 10 meetings that the Yellowjackets have spilled the Big Red.
 
It was a different story in the late morning, when Cornell cruised past 21st-ranked Williams. Five of the nine scoring matches were decided in three, with freshmen Charles Culhane (No. 2), Alex Dworetzky (No. 4) and Nicholas Goth Errington (No. 6) and sophomore Yohann Surti (No. 9) all winning their respective collegiate debut. The Big Red has now won 10 straight meetings against the Ephs, leveling the all-time series at 16-16.
 
The Big Red returns to action with a trip to New York for matches against Virginia on Dec. 1 and Columbia on Dec. 2.
 

CORNELL 9, WILLIAMS 0

National rankings: Cornell 15, Williams 21
Belkin International Squash Courts; Ithaca, N.Y.
1. Andy Muran (C) def. John Fitzgerald, 11-4, 11-3, 11-6
2. Charles Culhane (C) def. William Means, 11-3, 11-6, 11-9
3. Perry Hanson (C) def. Jacob Bassil, 11-3, 7-11, 11-6, 11-5
4. Alex Dworetzky (C) def. Wyatt Khosrowshahi, 11-4, 11-3, 2-11, 5-11, 11-7
5. Illia Presman (C) def. A.J. Solecki, 11-5, 11-7, 11-3
6. Nicholas Goth Errington (C) def. David Pincus, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 11-8
7. V. Luke Park II (C) def. Ben Eisenberg, 11-5, 9-11, 6-11, 11-2, 11-5
8. Jared Scherl (C) def. Anand Butler, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5
9. Yohann Surti (C) def. Krish Bhavani, 11-9, 11-3, 11-2
Ex. James Paolella (C) def. Oscar Merino, 11-4, 11-5, 11-5
 

ROCHESTER 8, CORNELL 1

National rankings: Rochester 5, Cornell 15
Lyman Squash Center; Rochester, N.Y.
1. Andy Muran (C) def. Ricardo Lopez, 11-6, 11-9, 12-10
2. Ashley Davies (R) def. Charles Culhane, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5
3. Matthew Toth (R) def. Perry Hanson, 8-11, 12-14, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5
4. Lawrence Kuhn (R) def. Alex Dworetzky, 13-11, 11-6, 11-6
5. Thijs Van der Pluijm (R) def. Illia Presman, 9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-3, 12-10
6. Marcus Sim Wei Jie (R) def. Nicholas Goth Errington, 11-8, 11-4, 11-3
7. Cesar Segundo Corona (R) def. V. Luke Park II, 11-4, 15-13, 11-5
8. Rodrigo Porras (R) def. Jared Scherl, 11-3, 11-3, 11-3
9. Alexander Riedelsheimer (R) def. Yohann Surti, 11-9, 11-5, 11-3
Ex. Siddhant Iyer (R) def. James Paolella, 11-9, 12-10, 15-13