ITHACA, N.Y. — The men's tennis team looks to get back on track this weekend, as it returns to Reis Tennis Center to continue its demanding non-league schedule to host Memphis at 5 p.m. Friday and Penn State at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Cornell (1-2) is coming off a pair of losses last weekend in the South. The Big Red locked up the doubles point to start last Friday's match at Mississippi, but it ultimately was handed a 4-2 setback by a Rebels squad that was coming off a victory over 14th-ranked Virginia. Two days later at a neutral site in Greenville, S.C., the Big Red split its six singles matches with Clemson before the Tigers won the doubles point to secure a 4-3 win.
Senior
Daniel Grunberger won at No. 4 singles both days to improve to 3-0 on the season. Freshman
Alafia Ayeni has debuted well in the collegiate ranks, posting a 2-1 mark at the No. 2 position in both singles and doubles – paired in the latter with fellow first-year
Evan Bynoe. Both Ayeni and Grunberger have defeated singles opponents ranked in the top 100 nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Memphis (2-2) went the distance last Saturday against 25th-ranked Texas Tech before being dealt a 4-3 loss. The Tigers' other loss was also to a ranked squad, No. 4 Georgia, in a regional final of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Memphis opened with victories over Indiana and Arkansas.
Ryan Peniston and Andrew Watson are a combined 5-3 from the top two singles positions, and Jan Pallares and Felix Rauch are ranked 58th nationally in doubles – though they have been competing at the No. 3 spot. Memphis has won all three matches in the all-time series with Cornell, all by the same 4-3 score. The first meeting was in 2003, then the Tigers first visited Reis in 2013. Last season's match marked one of Cornell's five losses on the entire season.
Penn State enters its own match against Memphis on Saturday afternoon with a record of 3-2. The Nittany Lions most recently swept Buffalo and Temple in a home doubleheader last Saturday. Penn State lost a pair of matches the previous weekend in Tuscaloosa, Ala., first to Virginia Tech and then to host Alabama.
Constant De La Bassetiere is 2-1 from the No. 1 singles position, holding down a national ranking of 67th. Christian Lakoseljac has an identical record at No. 2, and they also typically compete together at No. 1 doubles. The Big Red is 27-12 all-time against the Nittany Lions, including a 4-1 victory last season. The three prior meetings between the squads were all decided by scores of 4-3.
Both of this weekend's matches are free and open to the public. Free pizza will be provided to first 100 fans for each match.
