ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell women's tennis team returns to competition for the first time in three weeks when it competes at Penn's Cissie Leary Invitational beginning on Friday, Oct. 3 at the Hamlin/Hecht Tennis Centers in Philadelphia. The tournament will be the first for Spencer Furman, who was named the Interim Carl H. Meinig '31 Head Coach of Women's Tennis earlier this week. Along with the host Quakers, Cornell will square off against players from Maryland, Princeton, Drexel, Temple, St. Joseph's and William & Mary

A year ago at the Leary Invitational, Cornell posted a 27-12 overall record across three strong days. The Big Red earned wins against opponents from Drexel, Delaware, Temple, St. Joseph's, UConn and Ivy foe Penn, highlighted by a dominant 11-2 showing on day two and a 6-2 combined record in doubles play to close out the tournament.

The Big Red opened its fall season with a strong showing at the Columbia Invitational from Sept. 12-14, posting 13 singles wins and a 6-5 doubles mark across non-scoring matchups with Wagner, Columbia and Stony Brook. Freshman Dylan Gelber led the way with a 3-0 singles debut, while Emma Baker and Victoria Zhao went 2-0 together in doubles play.

Cornell will be playing its first contests since head coach Katie Zordani departed for an opportunity at Wisconsin in mid-September.