ITHACA, N.Y. -- The 26th-ranked Cornell men's tennis team will hit the road for a couple of key non-conference contests in Virginia when it travels south to face VCU on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m., followed by Old Dominion on Sunday, March 1 at 10 a.m.

Cornell is 7-2 on the season with road wins over Louisville and Purdue, home sweeps of Buffalo and St. John's and a strong third-pace finish at the ECAC Indoor Championships that included victories over Yale and Penn. The Big Red's two losses this season came against then-No. 12 Columbia at ECACs and a narrow 4-3 defeat to No. 44 Michigan at ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Cornell most recently topped Tulsa 4-2 on Feb. 21, moving to 3-0 at home this season.

Sophomore Rodrigo Fernandes, ranked No. 44 nationally, is 15-7 on the season from the top spot. Both Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar (15-5) and Felipe Pinzon (12-5) have also excelled in the top-half of the lineup. The doubles tandem of Senthil Kumar and Rushil Khosla is ranked No. 72 nationally and is 10-4 on the season, while the NCAA qualifying pair of Pinzon and Teodorovic is off to a 10-3 start. Fernandes and Eric Verdes sit No. 51 nationally in doubles. Big Red head coach Silviu Tanasiou sports a 193-108 career record (.641) entering the weekend and has four NCAA tournament appearances with first-round wins each year.

The Rams hold a 4-5 dual match record and have lost three straight entering the weekend following weekend sweeps at the hands of St. John's (4-0) and Virginia Tech (7-0) on the road. VCU holds a narrow 6-5 lead in the all-time series, though Cornell has won contests in each of the past two seasons - both by 4-1 margins away from Ithaca. The Big Red won in Richmond in 2024, then toppled the Rams last season in The Bronx.

Old Dominion sports an 8-3 record prior to Friday's dual match at William & Mary. Head coach Dominik Mueller's team has made three consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including winning the Sun Belt Tournament this past year. This will be the 13th all-time meeting between the programs, with Cornell leading 8-4. That mark is 7-1 since 2001, including a 4-1 Big Red victory last spring in Norfolk.