ITHACA, N.Y. — The 10th-ranked Cornell men's squash team dropped a 6-3 decision to seventh-ranked Drexel on Sunday afternoon at the Belkin Squash Courts in its final tune-up before Ivy League play begins next weekend.
The Big Red (4-3) secured victories at the top two positions and at No. 9, but Drexel (5-3) claimed six victories at position Nos. 3-8 to hand Cornell its second straight loss in non-conference action.
Junior Syan Singh continued his strong play at the top spot, defeating Nicolas Serna in straight games, 11-5, 11-3, 11-8. Sophomore Youssef Sarhan followed with a hard-fought four-game victory at No. 2, outlasting Guido Lindner 11-7, 9-11, 13-11, 11-8 in what proved to be one of the most competitive matches of the afternoon.
The Dragons seized control of the match by winning five consecutive positions from No. 3 through No. 7. Luhann Groenewald rallied from dropping the opening game to defeat freshman Aly Ezzat at No. 3, while Youssef Bastawy, Yuri Pelbart, Charlie Taylor, and Thiago Cabrejos all posted victories to put Drexel in command.
Sophomore Vivaan Shah provided the Big Red's final point with a straight-game triumph over Darien Benn at No. 9, winning 11-7, 11-8, 11-9.
RESULTS
No. 1: Syan Singh def. Nicolas Serna, 11-5, 11-3, 11-8.
No. 2: Youssef Sarhan def. Guido Lindner, 11-7, 9-11, 13-11, 11-8.
No. 3: Luhann Groenewald def. Aly Ezzat, 10-12, 11-3, 11-4, 11-6.
No. 4: Youssef Bastawy def. Edward Thng, 11-9, 11-4, 8-11, 11-7.
No. 5: Yuri Pelbart def. Arnav Tevatia, 11-4, 11-5, 11-2.
No. 6: Charlie Taylor def. Daniel King, 11-3, 11-7, 11-3.
No. 7: Thiago Cabrejos def. Roman Bicknell, 11-8, 11-7, 11-2.
No. 8: Tavneet Singh Mundra def. Jeh Pandole, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-9.
No. 9: Vivaan Shah def. Darien Benn, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9.
UP NEXT
Cornell will open Ivy League play next weekend with a challenging road trip, facing No. 9 Dartmouth (3-2, 0-1 Ivy League) on Friday, Jan. 17, before battling No. 3 Harvard (4-0, 1-0 Ivy League) on Saturday, Jan. 18. Both matches will be streamed live for free on Stretch Internet.
