ITHACA, N.Y. — The Columbia men's and women's squash teams were defeated by Cornell on Saturday. The ninth-ranked men dropped an 8-1 decision to the eighth-ranked Big Red. The eighth-ranked women dropped a heartbreaker, 5-4, to No. 5 Cornell.
 
The women's side saw the Lions get victories from Simmi Chan (2), Erica McGillicuddy (3), Nourin Khalifa (5) and Ellie McVeigh (8). Chan stayed undefeated on the 2022-23 campaign and improved her record to 9-0. She took down Cornell's Wen Li Lai in three games, including a thrilling third, 11-6, 11-8, 21-19.
 
McGillicuddy and McVeigh each won in five. McGillicuddy had the comeback of the day, rallying from two games down to win the last three and defeat Aishwarya Khubchandani, 4-11, 7-11, 13-11, 11-4, 11-4. McVeigh won her first two games, dropped her next two but ultimately held on in the fifth, 13-11.
 
Cornell took three of its eight points on the men's side in five-game matches. Those results came against Adam Goad (3), Rutvik Rau (6) and Ryan Chen (9). Goad and Chan each had two-game leads before dropping their last three games. Rau was clipped in the fifth, 11-9.
 
The men's team's lone win on the day came from Jacob Bulbulia (7). The sophomore picked up his third win of the year in a three-game sweep of Nicholas Robinson, 11-9, 11-5, 13-11.
 
The men's team plays two non-conferences road matches next Saturday and Sunday against Rochester (Feb. 11) and Western Ontario (Feb. 12). The women's team will prepare for CSA Team Nationals, scheduled for the weekend of Feb. 17-19 in Philadelphia. The men's CSA Team Nationals are the following weekend, Feb. 24-26, at Trinity.
 
For the latest on the Columbia squash programs, be sure to follow the teams on Twitter and Instagram (@CULionsSquash), on Facebook (Facebook.com/ColumbiaSquash), or by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com.