In years past, the Cornell-Syracuse women’s tennis match has been a knockdown, dragout fight to the final point. With both teams competing for upstate New York bragging rights, the teams’ annual meeting has become an intense rivalry. Sunday, Cornell’s women turned it into a hitting clinic, silencing the Orange by winning six matches while allowing Syracuse only one. Though the Orange (2-6) played the match short-handed, the “W” was a big one for Cornell, which now stands 2-0 in spring matches.
“Everyone played really well against them,” said junior Akane Kokubo. “They were our first opponent, and it was nice to beat them that badly.”
Though Kokubo, herself, along with junior partner Erika Takeuchi lost in the top-seeded doubles match, teammates freshman Kasia Preneta and junior Melissa Tu made sure the rest of the afternoon went smoothly. The duo made quick work of Syracuse’s Ashley Lipton and Kendyl Severino, 8-3, in the No. 2 match.
In singles play, the Red saw more success. Takeuchi, Preneta, Tu, freshman Nisha Suda, and sophomore Kara Maloy all won their matches in the second through sixth slots, respectively.
“Syracuse is always our big rival,” Kokubo concluded. “It was great for us to win this one.”
Archived article by Everett Hullverson