NEW YORK – The No. 12 Columbia men’s tennis team earned a dominating 6-1 win over No. 13 North Carolina in the team’s first dual match of the spring season Sunday afternoon at the Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center.
Columbia starts the dual season 1-0, while the Tar Heels move to 2-1 after the loss.
“With our tough schedule this year we can achieve great things,” Nick Kotzen said. “I think we have a great team and a lot of talent. Our culture is really developing and we are all super close and I think we can do something really special this year.”
Columbia started the day with a strong doubles performance, winning the No. 1 and 2 matches. The No. 21 ranked duo of Nick Kotzen and Max Westphal rolled to take a 6-2 win in the No. 2 position against Will Jansen and Karl Poling. Shortly after, Theo Winegar and Michael Zheng forced a break that allowed the pair to finish off a 6-4 win over Benjamin Kittay and Phillip Jordan in the No. 1 spot. Ishaan Ravichander and Henry Ruger played the No. 3 spot. They trailed Patrick Shoen and Peter Murphy, 5-4 as their match went unfinished with the Columbia clinch.
Nick Kotzen earned the first singles victory for the Lions with a commanding 6-0, 6-3 win over Schoen in the No. 4 singles. No. 24 Zheng followed that up with a 6-4, 6-2 win in the No. 1 spot against Jansen to give Columbia a comfortable 3-0 lead.
“We played well in doubles,” Kotzen said. “We came out with a lot of energy. In singles, I felt super strong serving well and playing well. All positives.”
No. 110 Westphal clinched the Columbia victory as he posted a 6-3, 6-4 win over Jordan in the No. 5 singles.
Following the Columbia clinch, the remaining singles matches played out to completion. No. 106 Ravichander dropped a 3-6, 6-7 decision to Kittay in the No. 3 spot as North Carolina picked up its first team point of the match.
Alex Kotzen stormed back from a set down to post a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 50 Poling in the No. 2 singles. Hugo Hashimoto capped off the afternoon with another three-set victory. Hashimoto claimed the first set, lost the second set and battled back to win the third set in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 statement win over No. 83 Will Peters in the No. 6 spot.
RESULTS
#12 Columbia 6, #13 North Carolina 1
DOUBLES
1. Theo Winegar/Michael Zheng (COL) def. Benjamin Kittay/Phillip Jordan (NC) 6-4
2. #21 Nicolas Kotzen/Max Westphal (COL) def. Will Jansen/Karl Poling (NC) 6-2
3. Patrick Schoen/Peter Murphy (NC) def. Ishaan Ravichander/Henry Ruger (COL) 5-4
SINGLES
1. #24 Michael Zheng (COL) def. Will Jansen (NC) 6-4, 6-2
2. Alex Kotzen (COL) def. #50 Karl Poling (NC) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Benjamin Kittay (NC) def. #106 Ishaan Ravichander (COL) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Nicolas Kotzen (COL) def. Patrick Schoen (NC) 6-0, 6-3
5. #110 Max Westphal (COL) def. Phillip Jordan (NC) 6-3, 6-4
6. Hugo Hashimoto (COL) def. #83 Will Peters (NC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,1,5,3,2,6)
UP NEXT
Columbia is back in action next Sunday when the Lions host Fairfield in a doubleheader. The first match will begin at 1 p.m. with the second match slated for 5 p.m. at the Milstein Family Tennis Center.
FOLLOWING THE LIONS
Stay up to date on all things Columbia Men’s Tennis by following the Lions on X (@CULionsMTEN), Instagram (@culionsmten) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).