PRINCETON, N.J. -- The Cornell men's tennis team earned a dramatic 4-3 victory over Yale on Friday afternoon at Princeton's Si Qin Family Indoor Tennis Center in the opening round of the 2026 ECAC Indoor Championships. The Big Red improved to 5-1, while Yale fell to 6-2.

Cornell set the tone early by capturing the doubles point, highlighted by a statement win at the top spot. Rodrigo Fernandes and Eric Verdes knocked off Yale's 14th-ranked tandem of Vignesh Gogineni and Edward Liao 6-4 at No. 1 doubles. The 30th-ranked duo of Felipe Pinzon and Petar Teodorovic followed with a 6-3 victory at No. 3 to clinch the opening point.

Yale responded in singles, taking victories at Nos. 1 and 2 as it seized a 3-2 lead. No. 48 Gogineni defeated No. 40 Fernandes in straight sets in the top spot on the ladder, while Liao edged Verdes to put the Bulldogs in front.

Cornell answered in the middle of the lineup. Teodorovic earned a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 3, and Pinzon followed with a 6-4, 7-6 decision at No. 4 to level the match at 3-3.

The deciding point came at No. 5, where freshman Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar delivered under pressure. After dropping the first set, Senthil Kumar rallied past Ethan Chung 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, sealing the Big Red's comeback victory.

Cornell will face No. 12 Columbia on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 3 p.m. in the semifinals. The winner of that match will play in the championship match on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.