NEW YORK - The Columbia women's tennis team suffered its closest loss to Cornell in Coach Ilene Weintraub's tenure in Wednesday's Ivy League opener, as the Big Red bested the Lions, 4-3. Though Columbia had singles wins in all three top spots, it wasn't enough, as Cornell was able to squeak by with the win. The match was even closer than the score indicates, as the deciding matches went to three sets each. With the loss, Columbia stands at 9-8 overall, 0-1 in the Ivy League, while Cornell improves to 11-5, 1-0 in the League.

The struggle started from the beginning, as doubles was anyone's game. Depth at the bottom of the lineup helped Cornell win at No. 3 doubles first, a theme that proved to be true throughout the entire match. Natalia Christenson and Eliza Matache proved to be outmatched, as they played well, but fell 8-3. At No. 1 doubles, the match was much closer. First-years Nicole Bartnik and Katarina Kovacevic played well, and had the match as close as 6-5 at one point, but Natalia Sanchez and Kristin Lim broke serve and stayed on top, clinching the doubles point for the Big Red with an 8-5 win.  Meanwhile, in the No. 2 spot, Carling Donovan and Natasha Makarova were waging a battle against Cornell's Christine Ordway and Sarah O'Neil. With the score tied at seven each, the match advanced to a super tiebreaker set, since the point was already decided. There, Makarova and Donovan dominated, winning 7-2 to take the 8-7 win.

Though Cornell had the 1-0 advantage heading into singles, it didn't stay that way for long. First-year Bartnik struggled to find her groove in the first set at No. 1, but managed to pull out a 6-4 win over Ordway. In the second, however, something clicked, and Bartnik dominated Ordway on the way to a 6-4, 6-1 straight set win. The match was tied at 1-1.

Cornell would regain the lead with the completion of the No. 6 singles match, where Donovan fell 6-1, 6-2, to Cornell's Ruxandra Dumitrescu. Up 2-1, the Big Red seemed to think a win was in the bag.

But the Lions had only begun to roar. In the No. 2 spot, Makarova was mounting one of the biggest comebacks of the day. In the first set, the junior co-captain was down 5-2, but wouldn't let that shake her. Slowly but surely, fighting for every point, Makarova clawed her way back, eventually tying the match up at 5-5, before taking the 7-5 first set win. With the momentum on her side of the net, Makarova cruised to a 6-3 win in the second set, tying the match up at 2-2, and setting quite a tone for her teammates. With the sounds of Makarova's win echoing through the bubble, Columbia began to play inspired tennis.

At Nos. 4 and 5, Kovacevic and Matache had both fallen in the first set to Cornell, but rallied  back to take the second set. Kovacevic had been down 1-0 early on, but broke her opponent, and then held serve, going up 4-1 before taking the second set and forcing the third. And after falling 6-2 in the first, Matache held on in the second, battling back in what was easily the longest set of the day, taking it 7-5 to force another third set.

First-year Chelsea Davis, meanwhile, tipped the balance in favor of Columbia with her win at No. 3. Davis, who was playing O'Neil, had taken her opponent to a third set in February, before the match was called due to an established team result. This time, the third set wasn't even necessary. Davis made easy work of O'Neil, winning 6-2, 6-4, and putting Columbia up 3-2.

The match was just one point away from falling for Lions, but the Big Red had just as much of a shot as Columbia did. And in the end, Cornell seized the opportunity.  Both Kovacevic and Matache couldn't finish it, falling in the third set, and seeing the Big Red take the heartbreaking 4-3 win.

Up next for the Lions is an Ivy League road trip, as Columbia travels north to take on Harvard (Friday, April 2 at 2 p.m. in Cambridge, Mass.) and Dartmouth (Saturday, April 3 at 12 p.m. in Hanover, N.H.).

Cornell 4, Columbia 3

Doubles
1. Sanchez/Lim (COR) def. Bartnik/Kovacevic (COL), 8-5
2. Makarova/Donovan (COL) def. Ordway/O'Neil (COR), 8-7(2)
3. Dumitrescu/Sullivan (COR) def. Matache/Natalia Christenson (COL), 8-3

Order of Finish: 3, 1*, 2

Singles
1. Nicole Bartnik (COL) def. Christine Ordway (COR), 6-4, 6-1
2. Natasha Makarova (COL) def. Kristin Lim (COR), 7-5, 6-3
3. Chelsea Davis (COL) def. Sarah O'Neil (COR), 6-2, 6-4
4. Natalia Sanchez (COR) def. Katarina Kovacevic (COL), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
5. Susan Sullivan (COR) def. Eliza Matache (COL), 6-2, 5-7, 6-0
6. Ruxandra Dumitrescu (COR) def. Carling Donovan (COL), 6-1, 6-2

Order of Finish: 1, 6, 2, 3, 4, 5*