1892
William Larned '94 wins the Intercollegiate Championship.
1916
The Big Red go 2-4 on the season, which ends up being the last season until 1919 due to American involvement in WWI.
1919
Kirk Reid '20 loses a close 5-set match to Yale's Charles Garland in the National Collegiate Championship finals.
1920
Abram Bassford '98 is named the first official head coach for the Big Red program.
1933
The Big Red finish with a record of 4-0, the only time in program history the team goes undefeated in a season.
1937
After five head coaches in the team's previous 15 years, Dick Lewis assumes head coaching responsibilities for the Big Red. He would become Cornell's longest-tenured coach, accumulating a 179-104-1 record in 23 seasons.
1939
Cornell has double-digit wins for the first time in program history.
1940
It is the first year of EITA league tennis play. Cornell goes 3-3 and finishes fourth overall.
1941
Cornell finishes in second place in the EITA for the first time with a record of 2-1.
1947
Cornell goes 6-0 in conference to win its first ever EITA championship.
1948
Dick Savitt '50 leads Cornell to the EITA title. Savitt and Leonard Steiner '51 win EITA doubles championship.
1949
Savitt again leads Cornell to EITA title. Savitt and Steiner win EITA doubles championship.
1950
Savitt and Steiner win EITA doubles championship. The team comes in second in the EITA and has a 22 game conference winning streak end.
1951
Recently graduated Dick Savitt wins both Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
1953
The Big Red has arguably its best season ever, winning 18 matches and losing only one. The only loss is a 2-5 loss to Princeton.
1955
For the fourth consecutive season and the eighth time in nine years, the Big Red win double-digit matches.
1956
William Larned '94 is inducted into the National Tennis Hall of Fame after earning the No. 1 ranking eight times and captaining the 1903 Davis Cup.
1959
Dick Lewis retires, and Jess Sison takes over as head coach.
1962
Cornell hires Eddie Moylan, a former top-ten ranked player in the world as its next head coach.
1963
Jerry Levin '63 goes undefeated at No. 1 singles (10-0) to win the Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association Championship, including a win against Princeton's Herb Fitzgibbon, the No. 1 in the east and No. 21 nationally. Levin makes it to the third round of the NCAA Championships.
1969
Dirk Dugan '72 wins the EITA freshman singles title.
1970
Dirk Dugan wins the singles title at the Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association Championship tournament.
1971
Dirk Dugan wins the singles title for the second straight season at the Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association Championship tournament. He makes the third round of the NCAA championship tournament.
1972
Dugan is named to the EITA All-Star team.Â
1973
Dan Wood takes over as head coach of the Big Red and immediately leads Cornell to its first winning season since 1966.
1978
Dick Savitt '50 becomes a charter member of the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame after having a career match record of 57-2.
1979
Francis Hunter '16 is inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame. He ranked second to Bill Tilden in the United States from 1927 to 1929 in tennis. He teamed up with Tilden for the 1927 and 1928 Davis Cup at doubles and won Wimbledon with Tilden in 1927. He joined Vincent Richards to earn his first Wimbledon doubles title in 1924. He also won Wimbledon at mixed doubles from 1927-1929.
1980
John Englander '80 stands out for the Big Red, going 14-5 on the season.
1981
William Larned '94 inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame. Steve Medoff takes over as head coach. He assumes the position of leading the men's and the women's squad.
1982
Bill Gauger '82 is named first team All EITA for singles and doubles (with David Merritt '85). Gauger is 15-4 in singles and 13-5 in doubles for the season.
1983
David Merritt is named first team All EITA.
1984
Dave Merritt earns a bid to the NCAA singles championships. Kirk Reis '20 is inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame after winning 16 national tennis championships and over 250 total titles.
1985
Dirk Dugan '72 is inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame. Dugan was 26-8 overall at the No. 1 singles position and was Cornell singles champion in 1970, 1971, and 1972.
1986
Leonard Steiner '51 is inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame.
1989
Rob Bernstein, 13-7, named first team All EITA. Bill Austin is named as Cornell's eleventh different head coach.
1991
Rob Bernstein is named first team All EITA. He leads the Big Red with a 15-3 record out of the number one singles spot. Craig Fanning '57 is inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame after competing in three varsity sports for Cornell, including tennis, where he was No.1 singles for two seasons.
1992
Zubin Irani named first team All EITA.
1993
Rai Katimansah is named first team All EITA.
1994
Jerry Levin '63 is inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame after posting a 28-6 career record.
1995
Barry Schoonmaker is named head coach of the men's tennis program.
1997
Cornell posts a 5-0 record on spring break trip to California. Reis Tennis Center outdoor courts open.
1998
Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association changes its name to the Ivy League. Navy and Army leave the EITA to join the Patriot League.
1999
The Big Red wins its first eight matches of the season, its best start since 1953.
2000
Defeats Dartmouth for the first time since 1953. Mike Halperin '01 goes undefeated in league play, receives first team All-Ivy, Ivy League Player of the Year Honors, and receives an NCAA automatic bid, the first since 1984.
2001
Dick Savitt '50 and Steve Weiss '57 teamed up to endow the men's head coaching position in recognition of the importance of lessons learned on the fields of competition and to help ensue a competitive tennis program and a positive experience for Cornell athletes. Savitt won singles at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, while Weiss was the first chairman of the Board of Overseers for Cornell's Weill Medical College. Mike Halperin wins Region I ITA singles for the first time in Big Red history. Cornell defeats Yale for the first time since 1973.
2002
Big Red win 17 matches (including seven shutouts), most since 1953. Its 4-3 Ivy League mark is the first winning season in the Ivies in 35 years. Zach Gallin advances to quarterfinals at ITA Regional Championships. The team also earns its first league win against Columbia since 1980.
2003
Team advances to the semifinals of the ECACs for the first time. Cornell beats Princeton for the first time since 1950 during the regular season. Reis Tennis Center hosts ITA Regional Championships.
2004
Zach Gallin '04 goes undefeated in league play and receives first team All-Ivy honors. Scott Paltrowicz '04 is named Second Team Academic All-American. Dave Merritt '85 is inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame after posting a 56-18 career singles record.
2006
Cornell receives three first team All-Ivy performers, including Brett McKeon '06 at singles and Josh Raff '07 / Nick Brunner '07 at doubles.
2007
The doubles team of Nick Brunner and Josh Raff compete at the ITA All-American championship, winning its first round match against the No. 8 national-ranked Wake Forest pair. The duo ends with a No. 40 national ranking and capture first team All-Ivy honors.
2008
Jeremy Feldman '11 wins Ivy League ROY after going 27-9 overall and 15-3 in duel matches.
2009
David Geatz takes over as Big Red head coach and immediately leads Cornell to its best finish (second place) in the Ivy Leagues since 1950.
2010
The Big Red finished the season with an 18-7 record overall and a mark of 5-2 in the Ivy League, good for second place in the conference standings. Cornell finished in second place for the second straight year, the program's best back-to-back finishes since the official formation of the Ivy League in 1956. Following the season, Andy Gauthier was named first team All-Ivy in singles and was a unanimous first team All-Ivy selection with his doubles partner Jeremy Feldman. Also earning All-Ivy accolades was second team selection Jon Jaklitsch.
2011
The Big Red finished the season with a 26-5 record overall and a perfect 7-0 mark in the Ivy League, giving it the program's first-ever outright Ivy League title. Cornell also demolished the old program record for victories in a season (18) before falling to Big East champion Louisville in the first round of the NCAA tournament — also a first in program history. Jon Jaklitsch was named a first team All-Ivy selection in both singles and doubles, while Evan Bernstein (doubles) and Andy Gauthier (singles) also earned first team nods. Jeremy Feldman was named to the second team.
2012
The team saw a changing of the guard, both at the top with new head coach Silviu Tanasoiu and with a sizable portion of the roster. The Big Red had one of the youngest competitive lineups in the country, often consisting of five freshmen and one sophomore, but that didn't stop the squad from having some success despite a tough schedule. The team was 10-15 overall, with 11 losses against nationally ranked teams. The season ended on a high note, with three consecutive Ivy League victories against Yale, Penn, and Princeton. Freshman Sam Fleck and sophomore Venkat Iyer were named to the All-Ivy League Second Team in singles.
2013
Sophomore Sam Fleck '15 earned All-Ivy League honors in both singles (first team) and doubles (second team), becoming just the second Cornellian to do so since All-Ivy League teams started in 1999 (Jonathan Jaklitsch '11 is the other). Fleck was 14-5 overall in singles, anchoring the No. 2 spot behind Venkat Iyer '14. His 5-2 record in Ivy League play was tied with classmate Jason Luu '15 for best on the team. Fleck also had a team-high 15 wins and just two losses in doubles, including a 13-1 record when paired with Kyle Berman '15 at the No. 3 position.
2014
On the strength of non-league victories over Nebraska and VCU, the Big Red closed out the season ranked 58th in the country. Sam Fleck '15 became the program's first five-time All-Ivy League selection when he was picked to the first team for singles and the second team in doubles. Jason Luu '15 (doubles), Quoc-Daniel Nguyen '15 (doubles), and Stefan Vinti '16 (singles) also earned All-Ivy Second Team nods. Fleck and Chris Vrabel '17 won the Northeast Regional doubles championship in the fall, edging out Luu and Nguyen in a rare all-Cornell final.
2015
The Big Red finished the season ranked 48th in the country and was essentially one win shy of securing the program's first-ever at-large berth to the NCAA tournament after a 12-8 campaign. Sam Fleck '15 earned his program-record sixth All-Ivy League honor when he was placed on the second team for singles. Chris Vrabel '17 was a remarkable 16-2 in dual singles matches, and he teamed with Bernardo Casares Rosa '17 to earn All-Ivy League Second Team honors. During non-league play, Casares Rosa battled back from a set down and through a second-set tiebreaker before winning his match at No. 3 singles to clinch the squad's upset 4-3 victory over Penn State at Reis Tennis Center. The Big Red was ranked 64th in the country, and the win over the 27th-ranked Nittany Lions is believed to be the program's first against a team ranked that high.
2016
The Big Red finished 12-10 overall and 5-2 in Ivy League play to claim third in the final standings. David Volfson earned All-Ivy first team honors for singles with an 11-6 record and second team honors for doubles. Colin Sinclair '17 finished with an 11-7 record in doubles to earn first team honors and All-Ivy second team for singles. The Big Red finished its season with an upset win over then 46th-ranked Princeton, 4-3, but barely missed out on an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament.
2017
The 2017 season was historic, as Cornell went 22-4 overall and 6-1 in Ivy League play to clinch its second conference title in program history. Colin Sinclair '17 led the way for Cornell, finishing an impressive 18-3 in singles, earning All-Ivy second team and first team accolades in doubles. Lev Kazakov '20 and Chris Vrabel '17 also earned first team and second team nods respectively in doubles. Earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Big Red notched its first-ever tournament win in a 4-0 victory over Rice before falling to regional host Baylor. The team finished 26th in the final ITA rankings.
2018
Cornell went 10-11 overall and 3-4 in Ivy League play in 2018 to finish tied for fifth in the final conference standings. Alafia Ayeni '22 claimed conference Rookie of the Year honors, becoming the third Cornellian to win the award since its creation in 1999. Ayeni earned second-team All-Ivy for singles, posting a 10-8 record in dual matches. David Volfson '19 also earned first team honors for singles with a 9-5 record. Highlights of the season include a win over No. 42 ranked Iowa and a 48th-place finish in the ITA final rankings.
2019
The Big Red took a step forward in 2019, finishing 14-10 overall and notching a 5-2 record in the Ivy League. Alafia Ayeni '22 led the accolades for Cornell, earning unanimous first team All-Ivy League honors for singles with a 9-7 record in dual matches. Lev Kazakov '20 also earned second team league honors for singles, earning a 13-5 record. The team had two five-match win streaks throughout the season and an upset victory over No. 42 Iowa. Although the team missed the NCAA Tournament, the men finished 59th in the ITA final rankings.
2020
The 2020 season got off to a hot start for the Big Red, storming out of the gate with a 9-2 record and its first Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship since the 2012-13 season before the rest of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team rose as high as No. 16 in the ITA rankings and had a six-match winning streak before losing to No. 23 Iowa, 4-3. Alafia Ayeni '22 led Cornell with a 7-1 record in singles, and Lev Kazakov went 5-2.
2021
Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022
Despite missing a season due to COVID-19, the Big Red came out in 2022, finishing 17-8 overall and tied for third in the Ivy League with a 4-3 record. Alafia Ayeni '22 led Cornell with a 19-6 record in singles to earn first team All-Ivy honors. Ayeni also earned first team All-Ivy accolades in doubles with Vlad Melnic '23 with an 18-3 overall record. The pairing earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Round of 16 before falling to Baylor's Jake Fin Bass and Svewn Lah in straight sets.
2023
Cornell finished 18-7 overall and fourth in the Ivy League standings at 4-3. Radu Papoe '25 earned unanimous first team All-Ivy honors in singles, finishing 16-2. Doubles pairing Adit Sinha '25 and Nathan Mao '25 also captured second team league honors with a 6-7 overall record. Despite losing to then-No. 13 Columbia in the final week of the regular season, the Big Red earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. In their first championship appearance since 2017, Cornell upset then No. 23 ranked Auburn 4-3 before falling to No. 12 Duke 4-1 in the second round.
2024
Cornell's 2024 season was one for the history books. Radu Papoe '25 became the first Big Red Red player in 24 years to earn Ivy League Player of the Year honors while also earning unanimous first team All-Ivy honors for the second consecutive season. Papoe also earned a 9-16 seed in the NCAA Singles Championship, securing the first All-American nod in program history. Highlighted by a 7-3 record against ranked opponents, Cornell finished the season 19-7 and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Team Championship in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. The Big Red would knock off Arkansas before falling to No. 4 TCU in the Fort Worth Regional final.
