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When sophomore Nathan Mao rallied for a second straight set win over No. 53 Princeton (13-12, 0-3 Ivy), it capped an up-and-down weekend for No. 36 Cornell men’s tennis (14-4 1-1 Ivy). After losing a heartbreaker to No. 50 Penn (10-8, 2-1 Ivy), the Red bounced back in a big way against the Tigers.
Friday’s contest against Penn started like most Cornell matches this year, with a loss in doubles. The Red had found success by shaking up the lineup in their previous game, introducing sophomore Jack McCarthy, whose size and power is tailor-made for doubles, and freshman Aman Sharma, but reverted to their usual lineup against the Quakers. Despite strong performances from Mao and sophomore Adit Sinha at first doubles, the Red lost at number two and three, and Penn took the point.
However, during the entire match, neither team could take a convincing lead. Cornell quickly earned the three points with straight wins from Mao, Sharma and sophomore No. 86 Radu Papoe, while Kevin Zhu and Aditya Gupta convincingly tied the match 3-3 for Penn.
It all came down to No. 4 singles where the match between Sinha and Penn’s Harsh Parikh was a marathon. Sinha fought back from a first-set deficit to win the second and set up a third set to decide the entire contest. When neither competitor could win a set in regulation, it ended in a tiebreak. Sinha took an early lead, but Parikh fought back, eventually winning the tiebreaker 11-9 to close out the match in favor of the Quakers.
Mao and Sharma in particular shone throughout the match and throughout the weekend. Mao has been a consistent, steady force on the team all season, with strong performances in both singles and doubles. However, Sharma has only got an opportunity in the lineup in the last three matches, but that has contributed to the team’s recent success.
Sharma emphasized the importance of team mentality and clutch performance after a strong weekend.
As a freshman, I felt like I was surrounded by a great group of teammates who supported me and helped me improve every day,” Sharma said. It’s been really important for me to do my best to get on the team when it matters.
After Friday’s heartbreaking result, Cornell fired up against Princeton on Sunday. Mao and Sinha’s wins at No. 1 and Papoe and senior Vladislav Melnic’s wins at No. 2 secured the double point, putting the Red up 1-0.
Only two of the remaining six matches were quick, as Sharma defeated Matthew Bosancic in straight sets, while Melnic quickly defeated Thomas Bosancic. Sharmas bout epitomized the strategy he has been using lately to dominate his competition as he played it simple and let his opponent use up his energy in the first set before breaking him down in the second set.
I am definitely a basic player as a player and I rely on my movement and speed during matches to wear down my opponents,” said Sharma. The biggest recent improvement I’ve made has been mentally, as I’ve kept my composure and composure on the pitch much better than ever before.
After a 2-1 lead, Cornell would win the next three games, though none would be easy. Freshman Petar Teodorovic came back from a 6-2 first-set deficit to win the next two 6-3 before Mao clinched the match with a tiebreak victory. Papoe won in three, marking his seventh straight singles victory. Princeton’s remaining point came when Sinha pulled out of what appeared to be his second straight marathon, and the Red won 5-2.
Cornell continues its very tough Ivy League schedule with a marquee game against Harvard 15 (15-5, 3-0 Ivy) on Saturday before facing Dartmouth (11-10, 1-2 Ivy) on Sunday, both at 1 p.m. You can watch the matches on Stretch Live.
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