WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Cornell men's tennis team closed its opening weekend in dramatic fashion on Sunday morning, edging host Purdue 4-3 at the Schwartz Tennis Center to improve to 2-0 on the season. Purdue fell to 1-1 after the opening weekend.

Cornell secured the opening doubles point with wins at the bottom two spots. The 90th-ranked pairing of Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar and Rushil Khosla cruised to a 6-1 victory at No. 2, while Felipe Pinzon and Petar Teodorovic followed with a 6-2 win at No. 3 to give the Big Red a 1-0 lead. Cornell also led in the unfinished first slot before play was halted.

In singles play, Cornell earned straight-set victories at the bottom of the lineup. Senthil Kumar pushed the advantage to 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-1 decision over Maj Premzl at No. 5, while Pinzon added a key point at No. 4, defeating Juan David Velasquez 7-5, 6-4 to put the Big Red within one of clinching the match.

Purdue answered with two straight singles wins to climb within one, but Aman Sharma delivered the clincher at No. 6, battling past Nikola Jovic 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 to seal Cornell's second straight road victory to kick off the spring dual meet season.

Henrik Villanger edged Eric Verdes 7-6(5), 6-4 at No. 2, while 76th-ranked Nour Fathalla rallied past 120th-ranked Rodrigo Fernandes 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 at the top spot. Stefan Simeunovic wrapped up the match with a three-set win over Teodorovic at No. 3.

Cornell will next head to Charlottesville, Va. for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 24-25. The Big Red is scheduled to face Michigan on day one and either Virginia or Iowa on Day two.

Cornell 4, Purdue 3
Jan. 18, 2026 // Schwartz Tennis Center (West Lafayette, Ind.)

Doubles
1. Eric Verdes/Rodrigo Fernandez (Cornell) vs. Maj Premzl/Stefan Simeunovic (Purdue), 5-3 UNF
2. #90 Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar/Rushil Khosla (Cornell) def. Henrik Villanger/Nour Fathalla (Purdue): 6-1
3. Felipe Pinzon/Petar Teodorovic (Cornell) def. Jacob Lee/Juan David Velasquez (Purdue): 6-2 
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2, 3

Singles
1. #76 Nour Fathalla (Purdue) def. #120 Rodrigo Fernandes (Cornell): 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
2. Henrik Villanger (Purdue) def. Eric Verdes (Cornell): 7-6(5), 6-4
3. Stefan Simeunovic (Purdue) def. Petar Teodorovic (Cornell): 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. #113 Felipe Pinzon (Cornell) def. Juan David Velasquez (Purdue): 7-5, 6-4
5. Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar (Cornell) def. Maj Premzl (Purdue): 6-3, 6-1
6. Aman Sharma (Cornell) def. Nikola Jovic (Purdue): 6-3, 3-6, 7-5

Order of Finish
Singles: 5, 4, 2, 1, 6, 3