ITHACA, N.Y. – Entering the weekend on a three-match winning streak, the men's tennis team will look to keep its roll going on Friday evening with a pair of matches at Reis Tennis Center. Cornell opens against Clemson at 5 p.m., followed immediately by a match against Binghamton.
 
Cornell (5-5) enters its final non-league home matches after winning its first two on Feb. 24 – a 5-2 decision against Iowa, then ranked 42nd in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, and a 6-1 triumph over Colgate. Add in a 4-2 decision over Brown on Feb. 17, and the Big Red has clawed back to a .500 winning percentage after winning just two of its first seven. While unranked by the ITA, Cornell is up to 49th this week in the computer-generated TRN/Slam.Tennis team rankings.
 
With senior standout David Volfson out of the lineup for each dual match to date, sophomore Alafia Ayeni continues to man the top positions in singles (3-3) and – paired with classmate Eero Vasa – doubles (4-2). From opposite halves of the singles lineup, juniors Pietro Rimondini and Daniel Soyfer have each won three straight.
 
Clemson (8-6, 1-2 ACC) started the month with a pair of victories last weekend against South Carolina State, 5-0 on Friday, and Georgia Tech, 4-3 on Sunday. Simon Baudry clinched the ACC victory over the Yellow Jackets with a straight-set victory at No. 2 singles. He shares the top two singles positions with Yizhou Liu, and Pierre-Louis Dodens leads the team in singles victories with an 8-4 record. Dodens and Jacob Jahn are 7-1 in doubles.
 
Binghamton sits at 7-6 after splitting its matches last weekend. The Bearcats opened with a 5-2 win Friday at NJIT before returning home and suffering a 5-2 loss to Bryant the next day. Ludovico Cestarollo is 4-4 from the No. 1 singles position after leading the team with a 10-3 record in tournament play. Alejandro Pena leads the way with a 8-3 record in singles from primarily the No. 6 position. Tiago Lou renco and Kashaan Nath are 6-6 from the top of the doubles lineup.
 
Cornell is 3-1 all-time against Clemson, though that one loss came last season in Greenville, S.C. Ayeni, senior Jake Hansen and Daniel Grunberger '18 won singles matches for the Big Red in a 4-3 loss. Cornell is 26-3 all-time against Binghamton, including 7-0 victories in the previous four meetings in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The Bearcats' last victory over the Big Red came at the start of the 2010 dual season.

Both of Friday's matches are open to the public and free to attend.