Box Score

MOUNT VERNON – The Rams wound up a firm second place in the Midwest Conference South Division men's tennis standings following a 9-0 home setback to reigning champion Grinnell in Monday's regular-season finale.

Cornell (9-8 overall) finished 4-2 in the South, with both losses coming to the undefeated Pioneers (6-0, 6-0 MWC).

Grinnell showed its strength from top to bottom in taking all nine matches from the Rams. The Pioneers won 8-0 at No. 3 doubles and scored 8-2 wins over Cornell's No. 1 tandem Federico Polidori (FR/Miami Beach, Fla.) and Alexander Hadler-Strumlauf (FR/La Jolla, Calif.) and No. 2 pair Chris Penas-Hull (FR/Lincoln, Neb.) and Drew Arnold (JR/Georgetown, Texas).

Arnold won Cornell's only set in single play, falling 6-0, 4-6, 10-3 to Henry Bridgers at the No. 4 position in the lineup. Hadler-Strumlauf dropped a 6-4, 6-2 match at No. 2 singles, moving his season record to 13-4.

Penas-Hull fell short 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3. Polidori lost 6-1, 6-1 to Grinnell's No. 1 player Bowen Mince. Grinnell won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 and 6 singles.  

Coming up – Coach Peter Dumas' Rams earned the No. 2 seed in the MWC South Division Team Tournament, which gets underway this week.

The Rams play host to No. 3 seed Monmouth (2-6 overall, 2-4 MWC) in a division semifinal at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Cornell's outdoor courts.

Cornell will try to beat the Fighting Scots for the third time in 11 days. The Rams defeated Monmouth 6-3 on April 18, and then scored a tough 5-4 win Sunday in Mount Vernon.

Wednesday's winner advances to the South Division final to face top-seeded Grinnell Saturday in Grinnell.

The South and North division winners will play for the MWC Championship May 8, hosted by the North champion.