Lennox Cao/Sun Staff Photographer

The Red defeat University of South Florida, earning its sixth straight victory to start its season.

February 15, 2023

Men’s Tennis Improves to 6-0 Ahead of ECAC Indoor Championship

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As men’s tennis prepares for the ECAC Indoor Championship next weekend, it had one final tune-up when it faced off against the University of South Florida (4-7) on Friday, Feb. 10. Keeping its undefeated season alive, Cornell cruised to a 5-2 victory.

This year, the Red (6-0) is seeking to match and outdo its 8-0 start from last season. Last Friday, Cornell was coming off of a road sweep against the University of Nebraska and Drake University.

Cornell has had issues with its doubles play throughout its win streak. This trend continued on Friday, as the Bulls took the top two doubles matches to win the point. The team’s sole doubles victory came from junior Samuel Paquette and freshman Petar Teodorovic.

Nevertheless, the Red continued to dominate its singles matches, taking five out of six. Four of Cornell’s singles players —  sophomore Radu Papoe, senior Vladislav Melnic, sophomore Adit Sinha and sophomore Nathan Mao — won in straight sets. 

Freshman Aman Sharma lost the first set of his match but was able to post a come-from-behind, three-set victory. Ultimately, the Red came out on top with its 5-2 win.

Thus far, Cornell has only had one true close call in its six wins — a 4-3 win over Drake. However, the bulk of its schedule, including all of its Ivy contests, is still to come. Last season, after jumping out to an 8-0 start, the Red went 9-8 in its final 17 matches. The full potential of this year’s team has yet to be determined.

The Red will have its biggest measuring stick of the season next weekend, when it travels to Hanover, New Hampshire, from Friday, Feb. 17 to Sunday, Feb. 19 for the ECAC Indoor Championship.