ITHACA, N.Y. – Freshman Cheyenne Lilienthal won in straight sets at No. 4 singles, but the women's tennis team was handed a 6-1 defeat on Friday by Indiana at Reis Tennis Center.
 
The doubles team of senior Madison Stevens and junior Michelle Wang actually gave Cornell a victory in the first match of the day off court, 6-1, at the No. 3 position. But Indiana (10-2), which entered this weekend just on the outskirts of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's top 50, won the other two doubles matches to take an early lead.
 
The Hoosiers' strength this year came through again on Friday, with straight-set victories at the top two singles positions – giving them a combined 21-1 record from those spots in dual matches. The teams opted to continue play after Indiana clinched the match, and Lilienthal broke through with a 7-5, 6-3 victory at No. 4. She now takes solo possession of the team lead with six singles victories.
 
While originally slated to oppose Seton Hall on Saturday, that match has been scrapped and Cornell will now complete the weekend with a 9 a.m. Sunday match against regional rival Binghamton. The match is free to attend and open to the public.
 
INDIANA 6, CORNELL 1
At Reis Tennis Center; Ithaca, N.Y.
Singles
1. Madison Appel (I) def. Priyanka Shah, 6-1, 6-4
2. Caitlin Bernard (I) def. Mariko Iinuma, 6-1, 6-4
3. Natalie Whalen (I) def. Ananya Dua, 6-1, 6-0
4. Cheyenne Lilienthal (C) def. Xiwei Cai, 7-5, 6-3
5. Michelle McKamey (I) def. Madison Stevens, 6-4, 6-4
6. Olga Zavarotnaya (I) def. Michelle Wang, 6-3, 7-6(5)
Doubles
1. Whalen/Zavarotnaya (I) def. Dua/Shah, 6-4
2. Appel/McKamey (I) def. Iinuma/Lilienthal, 6-2
3. Stevens/Wang (C) def. Bernard/Andjelija Bozovic, 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1), Singles (3,2,5,1,4,6)
Records: Indiana 10-2, Cornell 5-5