NEW YORK – The 11th-ranked Columbia men’s tennis team dominated both parts of Sunday’s doubleheader against Fairfield to improve to 3-0 overall to start the spring season. Columbia posted 7-0 wins in both matches against the Stags.
The Lions now face a competitive stretch entering next weekend with road matches at No. 17 Wake Forest and No. 23 NC State. Columbia will then return home to host No. 6 Tennessee on February 9.
“We are looking forward to going on the road to test ourselves against No. 17 Wake Forest, who beat us in the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2018 and No. 23 North Carolina State,” Bidyut K. Goswami Head Coach of Men’s Tennis Howard Endelman said. “They are two perennial national top-15 programs.”
Columbia had a dominant showing across the lineup in doubles and singles Sunday. The No. 21 ranked duo of Max Westphal and Nick Kotzen went 2-0 in doubles action, playing the No. 1 spot in the first match and the No. 2 spot in the second match. Theo Winegar and Michael Zheng teamed up in the No. 2 spot for the first match before play the No. 1 doubles in the second match. Alex Kotzen played the No. 3 doubles for both matches and went 2-0 as he partnered with Ishaan Ravichander and Sachin Palta.
In singles, Alex Kotzen, Nick Kotzen, Ravichander and Henry Ruger all earned two wins for the day. No. 24 Michael Zheng and No. 110 Max Westphal both finished the day with one win as they only played in the first match. Hugo Hashimoto and Palta filled in for the second match. They both registered wins to help finish off the sweep.
Match 1 Results
#11 Columbia 7, Fairfield 0
DOUBLES
1. #21 Max Westphal/Nick Kotzen (COL) def. Kostas Kollias/Keean Shah (FAIR), 6-0
2. Theo Winegar/Michael Zheng (COL) vs. Alex Aguiar/Sam Hodges (FAIR), 5-2 (unfinished)
3. Ishaan Ravichander/Alex Kotzen (COL) def. Luca Benaibbouche/Will O’Brien (FAIR), 6-2
SINGLES
1. #24 Michael Zheng (COL) def. Sam Hodges (FAIR), 6-4, 6-2
2. Alex Kotzen (COL) def. Nick Condos (FAIR), 6-1, 6-1
3. Ishaan Ravichander (COL) def. Alex Aguiar (FAIR), 6-1, 6-1
4. Nick Kotzen (COL) def. Keean Shah (FAIR), 6-0, 6-1
5. #110 Max Westphal (COL) def. Kostas Kollias (FAIR), 6-1, 6-1
6. Henry Ruger (COL) def. Andrew Immink (FAIR), 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (4,5,3,2,6,1)
Match 2 Results
#11 Columbia 7, Fairfield 0
DOUBLES
1. Theo Winegar/Michael Zheng (COL) def. Nick Condos/Thomas Smart (FAIR), 6-0
2. #21 Max Westphal/Nick Kotzen (COL) vs. Alex Aguiar/Sam Hodges (FAIR), 6-2
3. Sachin Palta/Alex Kotzen (COL) vs. Luca Benaibbouche/Kostas Kollias (FAIR), 6-3
SINGLES
1. Alex Kotzen (COL) def. Thomas Smart (FAIR), 6-3, 6-2
2. Ishaan Ravichander (COL) def. Alex Aguiar (FAIR), 6-2, 6-0
3. Nick Kotzen (COL) def. Nick Condos (FAIR), 6-3, 6-0
4. Henry Ruger (COL) def. Luca Benaibbouche (FAIR), 6-1, 6-2
5. Hugo Hashimoto (COL) def. Griffin Schlesinger (FAIR), 6-0, 6-0
6. Sachin Palta (COL) def. Calum Jessett (FAIR), 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,6,5,4,3,1)
UP NEXT
Columbia will travel to North Carolina next weekend for a pair of road matches against No. 17 Wake Forest and No. 23 NC State. The Lions will face Wake Forest on Friday at 5 p.m. before finishing the weekend with a 1 p.m. match at NC State on Sunday.
FOLLOWING THE LIONS
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