Cornell’s men’s tennis team opened its fall competition slate in winning fashion, defeating Concordia University Chicago, 8-1, at home Sunday afternoon.
The Rams started fast by claiming a 3-0 doubles lead. Juniors Alexander Hadler-Strumlauf and Federico Polidori cruised to an 8-0 victory at No. 1, followed up by an 8-1 win at No. 2 by junior Chris Penas-Hull and freshman Zachary Ong. Sophomore partners Edwin Holyoake and Lincoln Rener completed the doubles sweep at No. 3, capturing an 8-5 win.
Ong and Penas-Hull clinched the match for the Rams with straight-sets wins at No. 1 and 2 singles, respectively. Freshman Jackson Smock pushed the team lead to 6-0 with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph at No. 6 in his first collegiate action.
Holyoake and August Krahn narrowly edged out their opponents for super tiebreak wins at No. 3 and 5 singles to close out the meet against the Cougars. Orion Mason battled in a close match at No. 4 and came up just short in a super tiebreaker.
The Rams (1-0) close out their fall competition schedule next weekend at the ITA Midwest Regional Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Gustavus Adolphus College.