It will be a tough weekend for both of the Yale squash teams who will compete against all top 10 teams.

The men’s team (5–0, 2–0 Ivy) will face No. 6 Cornell (3–1, 2–1) and No. 8 Western Ontario, while the women’s team (5–0, 2–0) will be competing against a struggling No. 7 Cornell team (1–3, 0–3).

“This is our hardest road trip: two matches and a long bus ride,” captain Naishadh Lalwani ’11 said. “Cornell is going to be a tough match. It is hard to play away there, and it’s going to be our first real test.”

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Western Ontario will look to upset the Bulldogs. They had their first test against Ivy League competition yesterday against No. 6 Harvard. Results of the match were not posted at press time.

However, the bigger challenge for Yale will be against Cornell, who the Bulldogs will compete against in a short turnaround after a late match on Friday.

Cornell’s team, which has not played a match yet in the new year, will be well rested and will be riding on a 7–2 upset of Harvard on Dec. 4. The win moved the Big Red from No. 6 to No. 5 in the national rankings.

Nick Sachvie, who won the U.S. Junior Open last week on the Harvard campus in Cambridge will lead Cornell at the No. 1 position. He defeated Mexico’s Miled Zarazua in straight sets at the Junior Open; he is also ranked No. 5 overall in the men’s College Squash Association’s individual rankings.

In their last match against No. 7 Dartmouth, the Bulldogs’ No.1 seed Hywel Robinson ’13 retired from his match due to a leg injury. However, according to Lalwani, Robinson has fully recovered and should be ready to compete against both teams this weekend.

The Elis will face No. 1 Trinity next Wednesday. Lalwani said he hopes that they can pull off the upset against the top seed, using each of the weekend’s matches as preparation against the Bantams.

“It will definitely give us a chance to see where we are and work on a few things before we play Trinity on Wednesday,” Lalwani said.

The women will compete only against Cornell this weekend. Last season, the Bulldogs swept the Big Red with a score of 7–2 in both matches.

The Big Red fell convincingly to Harvard in their last match on Dec. 4, 0–9. The team, which has not played a match since then, will look to rebound against the Bulldogs.

“Cornell has a strong program,” captain Logan Greer ’11 said. “We have had some tough matches with them throughout the years. They are a strong Ivy opponent and the match will help us prepare for Trinity next Wednesday.”

The men’s team will play Western Ontario at Cornell tonight. The next day, both the men’s and women’s teams will compete against Cornell.