Cornell men’s squash will put a deeper lineup to an immediate test Sunday, opening its 2026-27 season at noon against No. 3 Columbia at the Belkin Squash Courts in Ithaca.
The Big Red enters ranked No. 10 in the College Squash Association preseason rankings after finishing last season 6-11 overall, 0-6 in Ivy League play and 10th at the national team championships. With only one senior lost from that roster and three freshmen projected to enter the middle of the lineup, coach David Palmer expects a stronger team, according to Cornell Athletics’ season outlook.
More depth brings higher expectations
Palmer, beginning his 11th season as Cornell’s head coach, wants the Big Red to maintain a top-10 national ranking and narrow the gap with the Ivy League’s leading programs. He cautioned that improvement within Cornell’s roster comes as its opponents also welcome strong recruiting classes.
“We do have some good depth this year, so we feel like we definitely will have a stronger team on paper,” Palmer said. “But all the teams are pretty stacked this year.”
He sees opportunities to challenge Princeton and Yale, though reaching the Ivy League Tournament will require Cornell to turn competitive matches into wins.
“Making the Ivy tournament, it’s a possibility, but we’re going to have to really perform well and cause some upsets,” Palmer said.
Sarhan leads returning players
Junior Youssef Sarhan, a Second Team All-Ivy selection last season, returns at No. 1. He finished 11-8 overall a year ago, including an 8-4 record at No. 2.
Sophomore Aly Ezzat is expected to begin at No. 2 after going 7-7 at No. 3 during his freshman season. Palmer said both players have the skill to compete at the top of the ladder, with close moments likely to determine results.
Cornell will be without senior Syan Singh during the fall. Singh, who went 6-7 at No. 1 last season, is expected to rejoin the lineup in January. The team’s lone graduated senior, Jeh Pandole, split last season between Nos. 7 and 8.
Three freshmen projected for middle of lineup
Freshmen Marc Voloshin, Colten McLaughlin and Tamir Wiegenfeld are projected to open at Nos. 3, 4 and 5, respectively. Arvaan Motwane completes the four-player freshman class.
Palmer highlighted Wiegenfeld’s maturity and international experience, while pointing to the three freshmen’s projected positions as an encouraging sign for the program.
Sophomore Daniel King projects at No. 6 or No. 7. Junior Vivaan Shah, who finished 8-8 overall and 5-1 at No. 9 last season, is expected to play at No. 8 or No. 9. Junior Roman Bicknell, who appeared as high as No. 4 a year ago, is slated for No. 9.
Palmer expects those options to strengthen the lower portion of the lineup, an area he identified as a weakness last season.
Ranked opponents fill the schedule
Columbia is the first of several highly ranked opponents on Cornell’s fall schedule. The Big Red visits No. 2 Trinity on Nov. 22 before traveling to No. 12 MIT on Dec. 5 and No. 11 Tufts on Dec. 6.
Palmer views the MIT-Tufts weekend as particularly important to remaining in the top 12 and securing a Potter Cup berth at nationals, with both opponents ranked immediately behind Cornell.
The Ivy League returns to eight men’s teams this winter as No. 21 Brown resumes varsity competition for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cornell will play five of its final six regular-season matches at home. That stretch includes Ivy League visits from No. 9 Dartmouth on Feb. 6, No. 6 Harvard on Feb. 7 and No. 1 Penn on Feb. 14.
The Ivy League Tournament is scheduled for Feb. 20-21, followed by the CSA National Team Championships March 4-7 at Princeton.
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