NEW YORK – The No. 11 ranked Columbia men’s tennis team is back in action at home Sunday when the Lions host Fairfield for a doubleheader. The first match is set for 1 p.m. with the second following at 5 p.m. at the Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center.
LOOKING BACK
Columbia is 1-0 to start the spring after earning a dominating 6-1 win over No. 13 North Carolina last Sunday at home. The Lions had a strong showing in doubles with the No. 21 ranked duo of Nick Kotzen and Max Westphal winning the No. 2 doubles match. Theo Winegar and Michael Zheng clinched the doubles point for the Lions with a victory in the No. 1 spot.
No. 24 Zheng, Alex Kotzen, Nick Kotzen, No. 110 Westphal and Hugo Hashimoto recorded wins in singles play to finish off the match. Alex Kotzen battled back after dropping the first set to upset No. 50 Karl Poling, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Hashimoto also notched a big win over No. 83 Will Peters in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
“With our tough schedule this year we can achieve great things,” Nick Kotzen said after the win. “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.”
SCOUTING FAIRFIELD
Fairfield will play its first dual match Saturday at Yale before making the trip to New York for Sunday’s matches. The Stags opened the spring season at the Army Kick Off last weekend. Kostas Kollias, Sam Hodges and Keean Shah led the way for the squad as they each registered three wins for the weekend.
THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Columbia moved to No. 11 in the latest ITA rankings following the win over North Carolina. The Lions are just one spot away from achieving another top 10 national ranking. Columbia peaked at No. 9 last season to continue the tradition. A top 10 ranking this season would mark five out of the last six seasons that Columbia has reached the top 10.
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).