ITHACA, N.Y. — Freshman Veer Chotrani and sophomore Alex Dworetzky swept their respective matches in three games, but the Cornell men's squash team started Ivy League competition on Sunday with a 7-2 loss to Columbia at Belkin International Squash Courts.
 
Cornell (2-3, 0-1 Ivy League), which entered the weekend ranked 14th in the nation by the College Squash Association, had another upset on its mind after a narrow 5-4 loss to sixth-ranked Rochester earlier in the week. But seventh-ranked Columbia (4-2, 1-0) took control early Sunday, sweeping the first rotation. Junior Illia Presman engaged in a tough battle at No. 6, but ultimately was defeated in five to give the Lions a 3-0 lead.
 
Dworetzky got the second rotation started with a win at No. 8 to get the Big Red on the board. He improved to 4-1 on the season, already doubling his win total from a freshman season in which he was competing four spots higher on the ladder. But the Lions clinched the match with wins at No. 2 and No. 5.
 
Chotrani then secured Cornell's second point in a quick three-gamer on the showcase court. The victory moves him into a tie with Dworetzky and sophomore Nicholas Göth Errington for the team's best record at 4-1.
 
The Big Red will now take a five-week break from matches while it tends to final exams and a respite for the holidays. Cornell returns to action Jan. 11-12 with an Ivy League road trip to Yale and Brown.
 

COLUMBIA 7, CORNELL 2

At Belkin International Squash Courts; Ithaca, N.Y.
National rankings: Columbia 7, Cornell 14
1. Veer Chotrani (Cor) def. Callan Hall, 11-9, 11-4, 11-8
2. James Wyatt (Clm) def. Charles Culhane, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8
3. Robin Singh Mann (Clm) def. Nikhil Arjunan Iyer, 11-4, 11-6, 11-3
4. Chaitanya Shah (Clm) def. V. Luke Park II, 11-5, 11-1, 8-11, 11-3
5. Krish Kapur (Clm) def. Nicholas Göth Errington, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6
6. Rahul Sehrawat (Clm) def. Illia Presman, 11-9, 11-13, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5
7. Aditya Kankariya (Clm) def. Humza Khan, 11-6, 16-14, 11-8
8. Alex Dworetzky (Cor) def. Justin Ghaeli, 11-4, 11-9, 11-9
9. Hugh Camiener (Clm) def. Jared Scherl, 11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 12-10
Order of play: ( 3,6,7 / 2,5,8 / 1,4,9 )