ITHACA, N.Y. – The men's squash team will look to make one last push before the national championships this week, taking on a pair of higher-ranked teams over the weekend to close out the regular season. The Big Red turns back to Ivy League play at 5 p.m. Friday when it takes on Penn, then the Big Red hits the road to face Princeton at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in New Jersey.
 
Cornell (6-9), which was labeled No. 15 in the Dunlop College Squash Rankings on Jan. 3-0, went on to win one of its four matches last week, upsetting 13th-ranked Navy last Wednesday. Junior Andy Muran and freshman Illia Presman were the only members of squad to record multiple victories over the week. Presman and junior Perry Hanson are tied for the team lead with eight wins apiece.
 
The Big Red remains aligned with the Hoehn Cup grouping in the national rankings (nine to 16), but can improve its seeding with at least one victory this week. Princeton (8-3) was most recently ranked seventh and Penn (9-4) sixth.
 
Penn (9-4) had plenty of excitement in its last three matches, all decided by final scores of 5-4. The first was last Wednesday, when it was defeated by Princeton – but the Quakers then rebounded with a win over fifth-ranked Dartmouth. Andrew Douglas holds down the No. 1 position with a team-best 11-2 record, while Max Reed is 10-2 primarily the No. 9 spot. Penn is 40-21 all-time against Cornell, including an 8-1 victory over the Big Red last year in Philadelphia. Jordan Brail had the Big Red's lone point, winning at No. 4.
 
Princeton enters Friday's match against Columbia on a two-match losing streak, including a tight 5-4 setback against #5 Dartmouth on Sunday. Cornell is 5-49 all-time against the Tigers, with Princeton winning a pair of matches last year – 6-3 in the regular season and 7-2 in a Hoehn Cup semifinal. Andy Muran, Perry Hanson, Seb Obieta-Chichizola and Alex Jung each had victories for Cornell.

The Big Red was originally scheduled to host Rochester in a non-league match on Wednesday evening, but that match has been postponed due to inclement weather. No makeup date was immediately available, though it remains a possibility.