Box Score WAVERLY – Senior Shoma Kishimoto (SR/Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) will go out on top as the winningest men's tennis player in Cornell history.
Kishimoto climbed to No. 1 on the program's career list in his final collegiate competition Friday night at Wartburg. He claimed a pair of victories in a 5-4 dual triumph over the Knights, concluding a terrific career with 142 wins.
Kishimoto broke the school record of 141 wins set by former teammate and doubles playing partner Hayden Dzurisin (2016-20).
Due to the COVID-shortened season last spring, Kishimoto was granted a fifth-year blanket waiver of eligibility by the NCAA to return for competition this fall semester.
Kishimoto made the most of the opportunity, completing an undefeated fall campaign at 8-0 and guiding the Rams to a perfect 4-0 mark in dual competition. He finished his sterling career at 142-62 overall, highlighted by a glossy 76-28 record in doubles play.
Kishimoto notched the record-setting win with a 6-4, 6-0 singles decision over Wartburg's No. 1 player Lucas Huffman. Earlier in the meet, Kishimoto and No. 1 doubles partner Alexander Hadler-Strumlauf (FR/La Jolla, Calif.) pulled out a dramatic 8-7 (2) victory, charging back from a 6-2 deficit.
Cornell's No. 1 player the past three seasons, Kishimoto was a three-time Midwest Conference finalist at No. 1 doubles, claiming titles in 2017 and 2018. Last spring, he was voted Cornell's Paul K. Scott Senior Male Athlete of the Year, an award he shared with Dzurisin.
Freshman Federico Polidori (FR/Miami Beach, Fla.) clinched Friday's meet and secured Cornell's undefeated fall season, winning a 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 thriller at No. 2 singles. Hadler-Strumlauf rolled 6-1, 6-1 over his No. 3 singles opponent.
The Rams took two of the three doubles contests, including a pivotal 8-7 (0) decision from No. 2 partners Polidori and Chris Penas-Hull (FR/Lincoln, Neb.).
