No. 6 Cornell looked to be an early season surprise in the Ivies this season with its impressive 7-2 victory over No. 7 Princeton, but any high hopes that the Big Red (2-3, 1-2) had of making noise on the national stage came crashing back to reality on Saturday.

Harvard did to Cornell what it has done to every other team this season and won 9-0.

To the Big Red’s credit, it was the most competitive match the Crimson has seen all year. The Crimson dropped two games against Cornell—the most games they have lost in any single contest this year.

The two hiccups came at No. 9 and No. 6 where freshman Chessin Gertler and intercollegiate No. 16 Hochberg each needed four games to close out their matches.

But those minor flaws hardly put a damper on Harvard’s feelings after the contest.

“I think we have more of a gauge on how this season is going to go, because Cornell beat Princeton,” Hochberg said. “So this helps us know where we stand.”

The top of the Crimson ladder continued to show that not many—if any—other squads in the country could match Harvard’s dominance up top.

Oren played at No. 1 and easily defeated the Big Red’s star, intercollegiate No. 13 Michael Serediak, in three straight games, 9-2, 9-3, 9-5.

The Crimson now has a two month hiatus to prepare for its match against Trinity on Feb. 3. That contest will be a rematch of last year’s CSA Team Championship finals in which Harvard lost to the Bantams 5-4.

—Staff writer David H. Stearns can be reached at stearns@fas.harvard.edu.