The Columbia men’s tennis team, ranked 12th nationally, secured a spot in the ECAC Indoor Championships final after defeating Cornell 4-0 at the Lenz Tennis Center in Princeton, New Jersey. The Lions improved their season record to 5-3 with this victory.
Columbia lost a close match at No. 1 doubles as Cornell’s pair of Rodrigo Fernandes and Eric Verdes edged out Nicolas Kotzen and Andrew Ena, 7-6(7). However, Columbia recovered quickly. Sachin Palta and Michael Zheng won at No. 2 doubles with a score of 6-2, bringing their record as partners to two wins and one loss. Thanaphat Boosarawongse and Aditya Govila clinched the doubles point for Columbia by winning 7-5 at No. 3.
In singles play, Columbia continued its strong performance. Sachin Palta was leading Petar Teodorovic 3-0 when Teodorovic retired from the match, giving Columbia a second point. At No. 2 singles, Nicolas Kotzen defeated Eric Verdes in straight sets, taking the second set without dropping a game.
Michael Zheng secured the final point needed for victory by defeating Rodrigo Fernandez 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. With this win, Columbia advanced to the championship match of the tournament.
Three other singles matches were unfinished once Columbia clinched the overall win: Boosarawongse led after a first-set tiebreak at No. 4; Abhishek Thorat was ahead in his third set at No. 5; and Aditya Govila had just won a long first-set tiebreak at No. 6 before play stopped.
Columbia will compete in the ECAC Indoor Championships final tomorrow against either Penn or Princeton.
“Stay up to date on all things Columbia Men’s Tennis by following the Lions on X (@CULionsMTEN), Instagram (@culionsmten) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).”
