PRINCETON, N.J. — Junior David Volfson and sophomore Joseph McAllister teamed up to win in doubles and went on to win their respective singles matches, but the men's tennis team was spilled by Princeton, 4-3, on Friday afternoon in its Ivy League opener at Lenz Tennis Center.
 
The match was as tight as they come. Princeton (16-8, 1-1 Ivy) won the doubles point in a tiebreaker at the third and deciding match, then four of the six singles tilts went to three sets. Even one of the two that was decided in straight sets featured two lengthy tiebreakers. The other belonged to Volfson at the No. 1 position, where he finished off his opponent, 6-4, 6-3, to win his seventh straight in singles and tie the match at 1.
 
The first of the three-setter went Princeton's way at No. 4, then junior Jake Hansen held off his opponent at No. 5 to tie the score at 2. After the Tigers pulled back ahead with a 7-6, 7-6 win at No. 2, 47th-ranked Cornell (7-8, 0-1) fought back against with McAllister gritting out his match at No. 6 with a 7-5 win in the third.
 
That left the balance of the match on a third-set tiebreaker at No. 3, where Princeton's Ryan Seggerman won seven straight points to clinch and keep the Tigers a perfect 8-0 in home matches this year. It's also Princeton's second 4-3 victory over Cornell this season, with the teams' first meeting coming back in February in the third-place match of the ECAC Indoor Championships.
 
Cornell returns home for its next match, when it hosts Penn at 1 p.m. Sunday at Reis Tennis Center. The match is open to the public and free to attend, plus there will be free pizza provided for the first 100 fans.
 
PRINCETON 4, #47 CORNELL 3
At Lenz Tennis Center; Princeton, N.J.
Singles
1. David Volfson (C) def. Kial Kaiser, 6-4, 6-3
2. Luke Gamble (P) def. Alafia Ayeni, 7-6, 7-6
3. Ryan Seggerman (P) def. Daniel Grunberger, 6-1, 6-7, 7-6
4. Davey Roberts (P) def. Pietro Rimondini, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
5. Jake Hansen (C) def. Damian Rodriguez, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
6. Joseph McAllister (C) def. Peyton Holden, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
Doubles
1. #90 Gamble/Rodriguez (P) def. Ayeni/Lev Kazakov, 7-6(6)
2. McAllister/Volfson (C) def. Holden/Seggerman, 6-4
3. Kaiser/Diego Vives (P) def. Grunberger/Hansen, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1), Singles (1,4,5,2,6,3)