Michigan
Cornell
Michigan Rallies to Defeat Cornell at ITA Kick-Off
1/23/2026 1:20:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Site: Charlottesville, Va. (Boar's Head Sports Club)
Event: ITA Kick-Off (Day 1 of 2)
Score: Michigan 4, Cornell 3
Records: U-M (1-1), Cornell (2-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 24 – vs. #2 Virginia - ITA Kick-Off (Charlottesville, Va.), 9 a.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team rallied from a 3-0 deficit, as it strung together four straight singles victories to defeat Cornell 4-3 on Friday (Jan. 23) on day one of the ITA Kick-Off at the Boar's Head Sports Club.
Senior Bjorn Swenson delivered the match-clinching point, winning in a third-set tiebreak at No. 2 singles. After splitting the first two sets, Swenson and Cornell's Eric Verdes went set for set in the third. Swenson put Verdes away in the tiebreak, 7-6 (7-2).
The Big Red took the doubles point, despite No. 7-ranked Max Dahlin and Swenson cruising to a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles.
Cornell tacked on wins at No. 3 and 5 singles to gain a 3-0 advantage, making the other four singles must-wins for the Maize and Blue.
Freshman Pierce Shaya got things rolling with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Rushil Khosla at No. 6 singles. No. 7-ranked Dahlin topped No. 120-ranked Rodrigo Fernandes 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 to inch the Wolverines within one. No. 123-ranked Mert Oral tied the match with back-to-back 7-5 wins over Rethin Kumar at No. 4 singles before Swenson delivered the victory.
Michigan will face No. 2-ranked Virginia on Saturday (Jan. 24) at 9 a.m. The winner of the match automatically advances to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 – No. 7 Max Dahlin (U-M) d. No. 120 Rodrigo Fernandes (Cornell) 6-1, 4-6, 6-1
No. 2 – Bjorn Swenson (U-M) d. Eric Verdes (Cornell) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2)
No. 3 – No. 113 Felipe Pinzon (Cornell) d. Nicholas Steiglehner (U-M) 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 – No. 123 Mert Oral (U-M) d. Rethin Kumar (Cornell) 7-5, 7-5
No. 5 – Aman Sharma (Cornell) d. Arnav Bhandari (U-M) 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 – Pierce Shaya (U-M) vs. Rushil Khosla (Cornell) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 – No. 7 Max Dahlin/Bjorn Swenson (U-M) vs. Eric Verdes/Rodrigo Fernandes (Cornell) 6-3
No. 2 –  No. 90 Rethin Kumar/Rushil Khosla (Cornell) d. Arnav Bhandari/Mert Oral (U-M) 6-4
No. 3 – Felipe Pinzon/Aman Sharma (Cornell) d. Pierce Shaya/Nicholas Steiglehner (U-M) 7-5
Order of Completion:Â Doubles 1-2-3; Singles 3-5-6-1-4-2
Players Mentioned
