AUSTIN, Texas – For the third consecutive season, the Cornell men’s tennis team opened NCAA Tournament competition with a first round upset win, sweeping past No. 30 Michigan 4-0 on Saturday morning at Texas’ Tennis Center. The 38th-ranked Big Red improved to 16-7 with the victory, while the Wolverines’ season came to an end at 15-13.
Seniors Radu Papoe and Mao at No. 2 and Adit Sinha and Jack McCarthy at No. 3 pulled out 6-2 victories in doubles to put Cornell in the driver’s seat with the first point. Papoe and Mao closed it out just seconds after Michigan had tied 1-1 in doubles. That momentum swung right into singles.
The Big Red claimed first set wins in five of the six singles matches, with Papoe making short work of #55 Will Cooksey at No. 1, 6-1, 6-1 to put the visitors up 2-0. Papoe, who became the Big Red’s first All-American in men’s tennis last season, improved to 21-8 on the year. Sophomore Felipe Pinzon made it 3-0 a short time later when he closed out a 7-5, 6-2 win in straight sets at No. 6. The Wolverines picked up some momentum, forcing a third set in three matches, but Sinha ended any drama with a 6-3 victory in his third-set match over Bjorn Swenson at No. 2 to close out the 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory.
Cornell entered the match one of just 23 teams to win a first round game in each of the past three seasons after picking up wins in both 2023 (4-3 over #23 Auburn at Duke) and 2024 (4-0 over #28 Arkansas at TCU). It has now claimed 11 victories over top 75 squads.
NEXT UP
Cornell will face No. 3 Texas, who topped Montana 4-0 on Saturday afternoon, in the second round matchup. The teams will square off on Sunday, May 4 at 1 p.m. CT.
