ITHACA, N.Y. — The men's squash team wraps up the fall semester portion of its schedule with its Ivy League debut, hosting Columbia at noon Sunday at Belkin International Squash Courts.
 
Cornell (2-2) will be playing its fifth consecutive match at home, coming off a narrow 5-4 loss to sixth-ranked Rochester on Wednesday evening. The Big Red came close to a big upset, spearheaded by victories from freshman Veer Chotrani and sophomore Charles Culhane at the top two positions on the ladder. The Big Red, which is now ranked 14th in the College Squash Association national rankings, saw both of its victories to date come on Nov. 17 – a 6-3 decision over St. Lawrence and a 9-0 sweep of Hobart,
 
Sophomore Nicholas Göth Errington won at No. 6 against Rochester to improve to 4-0 on the young season. Chotrani and Culhane both improved to 3-1, as did sophomore Alex Dworetzky after his four-game victory from No. 8.
 
Columbia (2-2) was ranked seventh in the country at the start of the week, but figures to slide after suffering a pair of upset losses in its most recent match action. Eleventh-ranked Drexel defeated the Lions, 8-1, on Nov. 23, and ninth-ranked George Washginton then eked out a 5-4 decision the next day. Columbia finished last season ranked sixth in the country after an identical finish in the Potter Cup. Sophomore Callan Hall has been competing at No. 1 and freshman Chaitanya Shah has slotted into the No. 3 spot in his first collegiate action. Chris Sachvie '10, a three-time All-American with the Big Red, is the Lions' assistant coach.
 
With a 7-2 victory last year, Columbia took a 5-3 lead in the all-time series with Cornell since the Lions resurrected their program for the 2011-12 season. Both Big Red points came from the bottom of the ladder from Nikhil Arjunan Iyer (No. 8) and Yohann Surti (No. 9).