The Columbia men’s tennis team suffered a setback in their Ivy League opener against Cornell, resulting in a 6-1 loss on Saturday afternoon. This loss brings the team’s overall season record to 14-3.
The match began with Cornell taking the lead in doubles. The Big Red secured victories in the No. 2 and 3 doubles, thus claiming the double point. Notably, Radu Papoe and Samuel Paquette of Cornell defeated Alex Kotzen and Henry Ruger with a score of 6-2 in the No. 3 spot. Subsequently, Petar Teodorovic and Eric Verdes clinched the point with a 6-3 win over No. 32 Nicolas Kotzen and Max Westphal in the No. 2 position.
Moving into the singles matches, Cornell further extended their lead as 13th-ranked Papoe achieved a 6-4, 6-0 win against No. 17 Michael Zheng. Columbia’s Hugo Hashimoto managed to secure the team’s only win of the match, battling through two sets to claim a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Nathan Mao in the No. 5 singles.
The rest of the singles matches were claimed by Cornell, solidifying their 6-1 victory. Notably, Adit Sinha secured a win over Alex Kotzen, Teodorovic defeated Nicolas Kotzen, Bradley Paliska downed Westphal, and Felipe Pinzon took a three-set win over Ruger. The team will regroup for their upcoming matches, maintaining hope for a better outcome.
The Lions will be looking to bounce back in the next weekend with two Ivy League matches. The team will host Princeton on Friday, April 5 for a 2 p.m. first serve at the Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center. The team will then travel to Penn for a 1 p.m. match on Sunday, April 7.
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As the team looks ahead to their next matches, they remain determined to learn from this defeat and come back even stronger. The upcoming games against Princeton and Penn will provide the Lions with an opportunity to showcase their resilience and talent as they pursue victory in the Ivy League.
Columbia’s performance in the Ivy League opener may not have been as they had hoped, but they are determined to use this experience as a learning opportunity. With continued hard work and dedication, the team is optimistic about achieving success in their upcoming matches.