Men’s Tennis Beats Auburn, Falls to Duke in the NCAA Columbia Takes Empire Bowl, Spoiling Football Winning Record

By NATE KRACKELER Sun Staff Writer

This article was originally published May 8. No. 41 Cornell men’s tennis (18-7, 4-3 Ivy) headed down south to Durham, North Carolina last weekend, May 6 and May 7, for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. After a hard fought win against No. 23 Auburn (17-12, 5-7 SEC), who boast three nationally ranked singles players and a top-20 doubles team, the Red fell to No. 12 Duke (22-6, 11-1 ACC), ending an up-anddown season on a relative high.

Against Auburn, Cornell started out well in doubles. After a tough loss at first doubles, where the No. 17 team of Finn Murgett and Raul Dobai of Auburn outclassed sophomores Nathan Mao and Adit Sinha, Cornell struck back at the No. 2 spot. Freshman Petar Teodorovic and junior Samuel Paquette looked excellent, winning 6-1 and evening the score. This left it up to No. 3 doubles, where, without senior Vladislav Melnic for the match, Cornell debuted a relatively new team, sophomore Radu Papoe and freshman Aman Sharma.

The match was a battle, with both teams leading at points before the score became tied at 4-4. The Red picked up a clutch break, though, and rode out the match, winning 6-4. Throughout the contest, it was difficult to tell that Sharma and Papoe haven’t played together often. Sharma excelled at the net, rarely making errors and placing his volleys precisely, while Papoe’s shotmaking from the baseline got the duo out of tough situations.

Holding a 1-0 lead, the match turned to singles, where Cornell faced what was almost certainly their biggest challenge of the year. Auburn’s lineup showed its strength early, as Sharma, Sinha and Paquette fell in straight sets, putting Cornell one point away from exiting the tournament in the first round.

Mao immediately struck back at fourth singles, taking his match 7-5 6-3. Mao, who has been a consistent performer all season, stuck to his normal gameplan, hitting his groundstrokes deep and coming to the net often, sometimes even on his second serve. Mao’s opponent, Jan Galka, never looked comfortable dealing with his pressure.

Mao’s win left the match down to Papoe and Teodorovic, who both played long, difficult matches. Papoe, ranked No. 88 in singles, came out firing, leading the first set 5-2 before No. 51 Tyler Stice took the set to a tiebreak, which Papoe won. After a second set loss, Papoe once again proved his quality, winning the third set 6-4 and tying the match. Teodorovic would have to battle in the first but took the set 7-5, before No. 119 Murgett evened the score. Up 5-4 and with the potentially deciding game tied 40-all, Teodorovic served to Murgett’s body, taking his opponent by surprise and giving Cornell only their second ever NCAA tournament win.

Against Duke, the Big Red faced an even tougher task, and it wasn’t their day. At No. 12, Duke was the highest ranked opponent Cornell faced all season, and their lineup featured many highly ranked competitors, including the highly touted Garrett Johns, who is inside the top 25 in singles and doubles.

Doubles was a mixed bag for Cornell, as after a tough loss at No. 1, Teodorovic and Paquette struck back with a 6-4 win at second doubles. Despite Melnic being available, Cornell stuck with Sharma and Papoe at No.3, and after a hard fought set, the new duo fell 7-5, giving Duke the doubles point.

In singles it didn’t start out much better, as in his return to the lineup, Melnic had to retire due to injury in the second set, bringing Cornell down 2-0. It was a disappointing end to a great Cornell career for Melnic. Mao soon fell in straight sets, extending Duke’s lead, before Teodorovic capped off an excellent first tournament for the Red, battling back from a first set loss to secure his fourth tournament win in four chances.

After Paquette lost a tough three setter, however, Duke took the match and ended Cornell’s tournament run. This mathematical loss ended Sinha and Papoe’s matches early, despite both having just won second set tiebreakers. Papoe’s match was particularly impressive, as it came against the excellent Johns.

It was a tough end to what has been an inconsistent season for Cornell. However, given the great performances Cornell has gotten all year from its underclassmen, the future looks bright for the Red.

By GRAYSON RUHL Sun Sports Editor

This article was originally published Nov. 19.

Football entered this Saturday, Nov. 19 with an important goal in mind: To break its 17-year stretch without a winning season. Facing off against Columbia in the Empire State Bowl, the team fell short of breaking the drought, losing heavily against the Lions, 45-22.

The Red (5-5, 2-5 Ivy) has employed a runbased, ball control style of football throughout the year. However, with its top three running backs sidelined, its identity was put to the test. Sophomores Eddie Tillman and Robert Tucker III, along with freshman Gannon Carothers, are all currently injured, leading the running responsibilities to be shared by freshman AJ Holmes and junior Drew Powell.

Columbia (6-4, 3-4 Ivy) was coming off of an exciting overtime win against Brown. The Lions was seeking its fourth winning season in the last five years.

Cornell got off to a slow start, going threeand-out on its first possession. The same could not be said for Columbia, with its offense churning off the bat.

The Lions charged down the field, with quarterback Caden Bell hitting wide receiver Marcus Libman for a 53-yard strike over the middle on a 3rd and 9. Putting Columbia just outside the red zone, the team was able to put together a series of positive rushes to push the ball into the end zone.

Looking to respond, a false start against the Red put the team behind the chains. Faced with a third-and-long situation, sophomore quarterback Jameson Wang overthrew junior wide receiver Nicholas Laboy, and it was picked off by the Columbia defense. The ensuing runback gave the Lions an instant redzone opportunity.

With a chance to create an early cushion, Columbia took over on offense. Similarly to last week, however, it was the Red’s defense picking up its offense. Two plays into the drive, sophomore safety Trey Harris forced a fumble, and senior cornerback Paul Lewis III fell on it to get Cornell the ball right back.

The Red attempted to capitalize on the turnover, putting together a drive into Columbia territory. Eventually faced with a 4th and 1 situation, a sneak by Wang was stuffed by the Lions’ defensive line, and Cornell turned it over on downs.

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