ITHACA, N.Y. — The men's tennis team will start its dual season by competing in the ITA 2019 Kick-Off Weekend, opening play against Arkansas in the Ohio State regional at 1 p.m. Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
 
There are 15 regionals being contested this weekend across the country, with each winner earning an automatic berth in next month's ITA Division National Team Indoor Championships. Cornell is the third seed in its regional, with Arkansas representing the second seed. Cornell will play either top-seeded Ohio State or fourth-seeded VCU on Sunday. The consolation match is scheduled for 10 a.m., and the championship will be contested at 1 p.m.
 
Cornell enters the dual season with high hopes and an experienced roster bereft of freshmen – though sophomore Eero Vasa and junior Daniel Soyfer are in their first season with the program after transferring from Central Florida and Wisconsin, respectively. The Big Red was essentially one victory away from an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament last year, falling to Ivy League champion Columbia in the finale to finish 10-11 overall and ranked 48th in the country.
 
Cornell brings back its top three entries from last season, with senior David Volfson now ranked 12th nationally in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association after his run all the way into the Round of 16 at 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in the fall. Unranked after an injury-plagued 2017-18 season, Volfson began his senior season in full stride by rolling to the ITA Northeast Regional championship and a pair of victories at the national event against Notre Dame's Alex Lebedev and San Diego's August Holmgren.
 
Volfson also teamed with Soyfer at regionals, advancing all the way to the finals before being ousted by a tandem ranked in the top 10 nationally. As such, Volfson and Soyfer are ranked 30th nationally in doubles.
 
Sophomore Alafia Ayeni also returns after being named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2018. Though he did not compete alongside teammates in any fall intercollegiate events, he did win the Canada F6 Futures event in September and competed in the elite field at the Blizzard Wild Card Challenge. His ATP World Tour Ranking has shot all the way up to a career-high 444th. Junior Lev Kazakov was 10-5 from No. 3 singles last year, and selected to the All-Ivy League second team and named ITA Northeast Region Player to Watch after his freshman campaign.
 
Arkansas (4-1), like Cornell, received votes but finished outside the top 25 in the Oracle/ITA Division I Men's Rankings released Jan. 9. The Razorbacks were in an almost identical situation to the Big Red at the end of last season, falling to eighth-ranked Georgia to end up at 13-14 and ultimately ranked 45th and outside the NCAA tournament bubble. Senior Adam Sanjurjo returns to the top positions in singles and doubles, and sophomore Josh Howard-Tripp has been competing at No. 1 singles after spending most of his collegiate debut in the middle of the order. Saturday's match will mark the first-ever meeting between the programs.