ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's tennis team delivered a dominant performance in its home opener, sweeping Buffalo 7-0 on Thursday evening at the Reis Tennis Center. The Big Red improved to 3-1, while Buffalo fell to 0-2.
The home team seized control early by capturing the doubles point. Eric Verdes and Rodrigo Fernandes set the tone with a 6-4 win at No. 1, followed by the 90th-ranked duo of Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar and Rushil Khosla, who edged Emiliano Jorquera and Faiz Nasyam 7-5 at No. 2 to clinch the point.
Cornell carried that momentum into singles, winning all six matches with five coming in straight sets. At the top of the lineup, 120th-ranked Fernandes defeated Theodoros Mitsakos 6-3, 6-2, while Verdes added a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Onder Balci at No. 2.
The Big Red continued to roll through the middle of the order. Senthil Kumar posted a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 5, and Aman Sharma followed with a 6-4, 6-3 decision at No. 6. At No. 4, 113th-ranked Felipe Pinzon earned a 7-6, 6-3 victory over Michael Malkin, before Petar Teodorovic closed the match with a hard-fought 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 win at No. 3.
"It was a solid performance tonight," said Silviu Tanasiou, Cornell's Director of Intercollegiate Tennis and the Savitt-Weiss Head Coach of Men's Tennis. "We went out with clear intent and made some competitive strides. We have another week of training where we need to get hyper-focused on what we want to accomplish."
Cornell returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 1 p.m. when St. John's visits Reis Tennis Center. The Big Red leads the all-time series 24-1 and holds an active 23-match win streak over the Red Storm.
Cornell 7, Buffalo 0
Jan. 29, 2026 // Reis Tennis Center // Ithaca, N.Y.
Doubles
1. Eric Verdes/Rodrigo Fernandes (Cornell) defeated Minjae Kim/Michael Malkin (Buffalo), 6-4
2. #90 Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar/Rushil Khosla (Cornell) defeated Emiliano Jorquera/Faiz Nasyam (Buffalo), 7-5
3. Felipe Pinzon/Aman Sharma (Cornell) vs. Theodoros Mitsakos/Onder Balci (Buffalo), 6-6 unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles
1. #120 Rodrigo Fernandes (Cornell) defeated Theodoros Mitsakos (Buffalo), 6-3, 6-2
2. Eric Verdes (Cornell) defeated Onder Balci (Buffalo), 6-2, 6-3
3. Petar Teodorovic (Cornell) defeated Minjae Kim (Buffalo), 7-6, 3-6, 7-6
4. #113 Felipe Pinzon (Cornell) defeated Michael Malkin (Buffalo), 7-6, 6-3
5. Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar (Cornell) defeated Emiliano Jorquera (Buffalo), 6-3, 6-3
6. Aman Sharma (Cornell) defeated Faiz Nasyam (Buffalo), 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 2, 5, 6, 4, 3
Records: Cornell 3-1; Buffalo 0-2
