The Columbia men’s tennis team, ranked 25th nationally, is preparing for a busy weekend with two home matches against Quinnipiac and Fordham at the Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center. The match against Quinnipiac is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a contest against Fordham at 5 p.m.
Fans will be able to watch live coverage of both matches through Columbia’s streaming portal and track live scores online.
In recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings, Columbia moved up two spots after defeating No. 20 Pepperdine. Three Lions singles players are currently ranked: Michael Zheng at No. 7, Nicolas Kotzen at No. 30, and Sachin Palta at No. 56. In doubles, Thanphat Boosarawongse and Aditya Govila are ranked No. 45 as a pair, while Kotzen and Andrew Ena hold the No. 51 spot.
Columbia’s latest victory came last Friday with a 5-2 win over Pepperdine at home. The team secured the doubles point early before Michael Zheng added another point due to an opponent’s injury. After Pepperdine tied the match by winning on courts six and three, Columbia clinched the overall win with performances from Kotzen and Boosarawongse.
Senior Nicolas Kotzen has won his last four matches and holds a season record of 19-7 overall and 7-2 in spring play following his three-set victory over Pepperdine’s Maxi Homberg.
Michael Zheng has had a demanding week as well, participating in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells after receiving a main draw wild card entry to the ATP 1000 event. He faced Vit Kopriva of Czechia but lost in straight sets.
Quinnipiac arrives for Saturday’s match having won its last three contests but holds an overall record of 3-4 this season with only one road win out of three attempts. Carlos Braun Simo leads their lineup primarily from the top singles spot with a year record of 13-18 and a strong showing in conference play (6-2). Elias Hoxha stands out at the fourth singles position with 19 wins this year.
This meeting marks only the second time Columbia faces Quinnipiac; their previous encounter was during the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2024 when Columbia won decisively.
Fordham comes into the weekend with a record of four wins and six losses but recently defeated Rider by one point (4-3). The Rams have struggled on the road this season (1-6). Sophomore Mateusz Gradski has played mainly at their top singles spot, holding a spring record above .500.
Columbia leads its historical series against Fordham significantly (32-5), though these teams have not played since February 2013 when Columbia earned a comfortable win.
Supporters can follow updates about Columbia Men’s Tennis on X (@CULionsMTEN), Instagram (@culionsmten), or Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
