The Ivy tennis season comes to a close this weekend, with both men’s and women’s teams taking on Penn and Princeton. The men are coming back after winning a two-game away stint, while the women spent this past weekend defeating both their visitors. The men’s team will celebrate senior day on Friday, before heading off to Princeton on Saturday.
Senior Stefan Vinti hasn’t dropped a single match against Ivy opponents, and hopes to continue that streak with his last contest at Reis Tennis Center. Teammates Colin Sinclair and David Volfson are looking to extend their doubles Ivy League undefeated streak.
Cornell (10-10, 3-2 Ivy) looks to keep momentum and extend their winning streak to four with two games this weekend. Head coach Silviu Tanasoiu is especially excited about this past weekend, considering he didn’t think the team played their best.
The Red’s men are currently ranked third in the Ivy standings, behind Columbia (15-5, 5-0 Ivy) and Dartmouth (14-8, 3-1 Ivy), but Tanasoiu believes the disparity between the top teams is “razor thin.”
Friday’s match against the Quakers (7-13, 2-2 Ivy) will be the first time these two teams will go head-to-head this year, but Saturday’s contest in Princeton will take the form of a rematch, with Cornell looking to record a win this time around. The Tigers (14-8, 2-2 Ivy) just barely edged out the win last time, with the Red coming within two points of winning the match.
Coach Tanasoiu believes his team can get the job done this weekend.
“We are a better team now than when we played them earlier in the season,” Tanasoiu said.
The women’s squad hopes to steal a win on the road this Friday, before returning home for their Ivy season finale. Sunday’s match marks the last time senior captain Dena Tanenbaum and senior Jane Stewart will don their Cornell uniforms in front of a home crowd at Reis.
The Quakers (10-7, 3-2 Ivy) are coming off a 5-2 win against Dartmouth, but that is not worrying the team according to sophomore Lizzie Stewart.
“We aren’t worried about either match,” Stewart said. “We know that on any given day, any team can beat any team. We know that we could have beaten Dartmouth that day, and we know we can beat Penn as long as we stay disciplined.”
The Cornell women are seeking the Ivy League title this weekend, and Stewart credits the team’s unity and spirit for their success thus far.
“We are a really solid team, and it’s going to come down to who wants it more,” Stewart said. “I have no doubt that we are going to be the team that wants it the most”.
Both teams are looking to utilize the home court advantage this coming weekend citing the energy and support of the fans as something that pushes the players forward, making it hard for opponents to assert themselves when playing at Reis.