ITHACA, N.Y. — One of the men's tennis team's toughest non-league matches of the season is also its last, with the Big Red wrapping up its Ivy League preparation with a 1 p.m. Saturday meeting with Oklahoma in a meeting of nationally-ranked programs at Reis Tennis Center.
The clash is a rematch of the Big Red's signature victory of the program's memorable 2016-17 season, when Cornell went to Norman, Okla. and toppled the seventh-ranked Sooners, 4-3. It was the highest-ranked team the Big Red has ever defeated in program history, and it was a major contributor in securing a No. 2 seed as an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament. Sophomore
Lev Kazakov clinched the match with a three-set victory at No. 2 singles in the first-ever meeting between the programs.
Cornell (7-6) enters the weekend on a two-match winning streak, having defeated Buffalo on Thursday, 7-0, and William & Mary on Saturday, 5-2. Junior
David Volfson has now won his last five singles matches to reach completion, improving to 6-3 from primarily the No. 1 position. Kazakov is 7-3 from No. 3 and senior
Daniel Grunberger leads the team in singles victories with a 9-4 mark from the middle of the order. The Big Red has been tabbed 41st in the last three runs of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings.
Oklahoma is ranked 17th, down one spot from the previous week, with a 14-2 record after a 4-3 victory over Fresno State on Monday. The Sooners also topped UMKC, 4-0, on Saturday in its first match since a 5-2 setback against third-ranked UCLA on March 15.
Alex Bakshi is 7-2 from the top singles positions, where he's ranked 73rd nationally by the ITA. Ferran Calvo (5-5) is tabbed 62nd, but typically competes at No. 3. Jake van Emburgh (10-2) is 106th, also most frequently entered into the middle positions. Calvo and van Emburgh are 6-1 as one of the team's top doubles entries, though he were broken up for Monday's match against Fresno State.
Saturday's match is free to attend and open to the public with free pizza for the first 100 fans.
