ITHACA, N.Y. — The 10th-ranked Cornell men's squash team will open the spring semester on Sunday when it hosts No. 7 Drexel at the Belkin Squash Courts.
Cornell (4-2) will be looking to bounce back from a 9-0 loss at No. 4 Virginia on Dec. 6 when it takes on Drexel (4-3) with match action scheduled to begin at noon. All matches will be streamed live for free on Stretch Internet.
RETURNING HOME
The Big Red will be playing its first home match since Nov. 23, when it defeated No. 11 Tufts, 6-3, to cap a three-match homestand. Sunday's contest against Drexel marks Cornell's lone home match until Jan. 30, when it hosts No. 6-ranked Princeton following the CSA Individual Championships, which will be held in New York City from Jan. 23-27.
Cornell heads into Sunday's match after being swept by Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., to close out the fall semester. Despite the final score, sophomore Youssef Sarhan and freshman Aly Ezzat pushed their opponents in competitive matches. Ezzat battled to five games at No. 2, while Sarhan won the opening game in the No. 1 match before falling in four games.
SEASON STANDOUTS
Senior Syan Singh has posted the team's best win percentage this season at .750 (3-1) and is a perfect 2-0 in matches played at No. 1. Singh, who did not compete against Virginia, enters Sunday riding a two-match win streak and will be a key factor for the Big Red.
Freshmen Aly Ezzat and Edward Thng, along with sophomores Youssef Sarhan and Vivaan Shah, are all tied for the team lead in victories with 4-2 records. Fellow freshman Vedant Chheda (2-1) is tied with Ezzat, Thng, Sarhan, and Shah for second on the team in win percentage at .667.
SCOUTING DREXEL
Drexel enters Sunday's match having lost its last three matches, all of which have come against Ivy League competiton. The Dragons opened the season with a trio of victories in the Pennsylvania State Classic in Lancaster, Pa., against No. 16 Franklin & Marshall, No. 27 Dickinson, and No. 23 Chatham, before posting an upset victory over No. 6 Princeton, 6-3, on Nov. 22.
Since then, Drexel has suffered setbacks to top-ranked Penn, 8-1, on Dec. 3, before being edged by No. 5 Yale, 5-4, on Dec. 6, and falling to No. 7 Columbia, 7-2, the following day.
Darien Benn, Yuri Pollak, and Tavneet Singh are all tied for the team lead in wins (five). Dumitru Goian has won four of his five matches on the season.
SERIES HISTORY
Drexel holds a 9-5 advantage in the all-time series and has dominated recent matchups, winning five of the last six and nine of the last 11 meetings. Cornell's most recent victory came at home on Jan. 13, 2024, when the Big Red posted a 5-4 win.
The two teams last met on Jan. 15, 2025, in Philadelphia, where Drexel claimed a 7-2 victory.
