By ryan
Most people who go to Florida over spring break do so to relax and get away from the pressures of school. Unfortunately for the Red, the men’s tennis team doesn’t quite have that luxury. While others soak up the sunshine at the beach, the men will be sweating it out on the courts of southern Florida, hoping that their unbeaten record will remain intact when classes resume. Last weekend saw the men edging out Army 4-3 at West Point, improving their overall mark to 9-0. The win gives the team a huge psychological boost heading into a difficult part of the schedule. While the match-up with Army proved to be the toughest challenge for the men so far this season, they will face even stiffer opposition down in Florida. Last year, the team lost its unbeaten mark during the break to Florida Atlantic, while Lynn and Miami also inflicted defeats on the Red all in the same trip. The men will have an opportunity to avenge each one of those defeats, in addition to playing Florida A&M and Barry. In last year’s match-up against Florida Atlantic, the Red fell 7-0 with sophomore Mike Mestel taking a sole set. The men then lost a closer encounter to Lynn 6-3, before suffering a 6-1 defeat at the hands of Miami. However, they finished the break on a high note with victory over DePaul at Florida International. This year, the grueling schedule has the Red facing five opponents in a span of only six days. The depth of the team, which has been instrumental in its success this year, will be put to the test. If the players can come away from Florida with at least a couple wins against formidable tennis schools, it will prepare them nicely for the start of Ivy League play at Columbia on March 31. Archived article by Soo Kim
By ryan
The stage doesn’t get any bigger for the Cornell wrestlers this weekend. Four team members are in Iowa City for the national NCAA championships, where they will take on the toughest competition the country has to offer. Senior tri-captains Corey Anderson and Leo Urbinelli accompanied classmate Jim Stanec and sophomore Tom Waldron to Carver-Hawkeye Arena at the University of Iowa. 77 other schools were represented at the tournament. The action began yesterday, with mixed results for Cornell’s troops. After one session of combat, Cornell is tied for 40th in the team standings with two points. Minnesota leads the way with 27, while host Iowa is in second place with 24.5. Individually, Urbinelli is the only Red grappler to be seeded in his respective weight class. Wrestling at 157 pounds, the 11th-ranked Urbinelli defeated Ryan Smith of Ohio 7-5 in the first round of action. Urbinelli will have a tougher time in the second round, where he will square off against sixth-ranked Luke Becker of Minnesota. Waldron was not as successful in his first match of the tournament. The sophomore took on Hofstra’s sixth-ranked Jason DeBruin in a play-in match in the 141 pound bracket, and was defeated 5-1. Stanec (174 pounds) had his work cut out for him in his first round match, pitted against fourth-ranked Tyrone Lewis of Oklahoma. Lewis made easy work of Stanec, bouncing the Cornellian from the bracket by an 11-5 margin. Stanec’s shot at redemption will come in the consolation bracket, where he will first face the winner of a match yet to be contested. Anderson, meanwhile, took on Indiana’s Ty Matthews in the opening round at 197 pounds. The unranked Matthews dismissed Anderson by a 7-2 decision. Anderson will move to the consolation bracket as well, where he will face Leonard Bridgeforth of Delaware State. The three Red seniors in the tournament all reached nationals by virtue of their finalist status in the EIWA championships two weeks ago. Waldron joined them by receiving a wild-card bid into the tournament. Archived article by Alex Fineman