PRINCETON, N.J. -- The Cornell men's tennis team split its final two matches at the 2026 ECAC Indoor Championships, falling to No. 12 Columbia 4-0 in Saturday's semifinal before rebounding with a 4-2 victory over Penn in Sunday's third-place match at the Si Qin Family Indoor Tennis Center at Princeton. Cornell moved to 6-2 on the season with Sunday's win.

Against the Lions, Cornell earned a highlight victory at No. 1 doubles, where Rodrigo Fernandes and Eric Verdes edged Columbia's 54th-ranked tandem 7-6. However, Columbia secured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3.

In singles, the Lions controlled the top of the lineup. Third-ranked Michael Zheng defeated 40th-ranked Fernandes 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1, while 25th-ranked Nicolas Kotzen topped Verdes 6-4, 6-0 at No. 2. Sachin Palta added a win at No. 3 to clinch the match. Singles contests at Nos. 4, 5 and 6 were left unfinished.

Cornell bounced back Sunday with a strong performance against Penn. The Big Red captured the doubles point with victories at Nos. 2 and 3. The 66th-ranked pair of Rushil Khosla and Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar posted a 6-3 win at No. 2, and the 30th-ranked tandem of Felipe Pinzon and Petar Teodorovic followed with a 6-4 victory at No. 3.

In singles, Cornell secured three straight-set wins to clinch the match. Fernandes defeated 46th-ranked Manfredi Graziani 6-4, 6-3 at the top spot, while Senthil Kumar dominated Adam Bain 6-0, 6-4 at No. 5. Verdes delivered the decisive point at No. 2, rallying past Luka Butera 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 to seal the 4-2 triumph.

Penn earned wins at Nos. 4 and 6, and the No. 3 match went unfinished after the outcome was decided.

Cornell will next hit the road for non-conference battles at VCU on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. and Old Dominion on Sunday, March 1 at 10 a.m.