NEW YORK, N.Y.—The 12th-ranked Columbia men’s tennis team won an early-season meeting of ranked opponents by beating No. 13 North Carolina, 6-1, on Sunday afternoon at the Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center in New York City.
Columbia improved to 1-0 by winning its 2024 season opener. The Tar Heels (2-1) were playing their first road match of the 2024 season.
The Lions captured the doubles point to start the match, picking up a 6-2 win at No. 2 over Will Jansen and Karl Poling and a 6-0 victory at No. 1 over Benjamin Kittay and Phillip Jordan. Patrick Schoen and Peter Murphy were leading, 5-4, at No. 3 when Columbia clinched the doubles point.
In singles play, Nicolas Kotzen beat Schoen at No. 4 by a 6-0, 6-3 count for the first singles result of the afternoon and a 2-0 Lion lead. Shortly thereafter, it was 3-0 Columbia when No. 24 Michael Zheng beat Jansen at No. 1 singles. The Lions clinched the team victory with Max Westphal’s 6-3, 6-4 win over Jordan at No. 5.
The teams finished out the match with Columbia winning two of the remaining three singles matchups. Kittay won his match at No. 3, 6-3, 7-6. The Lions picked up wins at No. 2 over Poling and No. 6 over Will Peters.
The Tar Heels will return to action when they host the ITA Kickoff Weekend next Saturday and Sunday January 27 and 28. UNC will meet Illinois in one semifinal on Saturday, while Wake Forest and Florida will meet in the other. The winners will face off on Sunday with a trip to the ITA Indoor National Team Championships on the line.
North Carolina vs Columbia Jan 21, 2024
at New York, N.Y. (Milstein Family Tennis Center)
#12 Columbia 6, #13 North Carolina 1
Singles competition
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
Doubles competition
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
Match Notes:
North Carolina 2-1; National ranking #13 Columbia 1-0; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,1,5,3,2,6)