NEW YORK – After losing the doubles point, Columbia women's tennis rallied to come back and win four singles points, in a match that saw the Lions hand Buffalo its first loss of the season, 4-3.

The Bulls took control of the match early, as Buffalo swept all three doubles spots to take a 1-0 lead over Columbia. Though the Lions led in the beginning in both the Nos. 1 and 2 spots, Buffalo proved to have the stronger pairs, as they earned an 8-4 win at No. 1, and an 8-5 win at No. 3. With the point decided, the No. 2 doubles match was tied at 7-7, and saw the two teams go into a super tiebreaker, with Buffalo coming out on top, 8-7.

Despite being in a 1-0 hole, the Columbia women's tennis team began a rally for the match. First-year Nicole Bartnik had a quick win in the No. 1 singles spot, beating Denise Harijanto in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. With her win, the overall match score was tied at 1-1. Junior Natasha Makarova gave Columbia the 2-1 overall lead when she earned a win in the No. 2 spot, beating Diana Popescu, 6-2, 6-2. And first-year Chelsea Davis widened the team lead even further when she had an outstanding win at No. 3, beating Aleksandra Petrova, 6-1, 6-4.

From there, however, Buffalo began to stage a rally of its own. At No. 6 singles, Diana Shapoval had a tough fight in the second set, but ended up falling to Diana Toia, 6-4, 7-5. And at No. 4 singles, Buffalo's Kira Golenko handed senior Carling Donovan a tough loss, as she won 6-4, 7-6(1). With that win for Buffalo, the overall match was tied at 3-3, and all attention shifted to the match-up at No. 5 singles.

There, sophomore Eliza Matache was battling it out with Buffalo freshman Tamara Markovic. Markovic had won the first set, 6-4, but with the sounds of her Columbia teammates winning in the background, Matache was spurned on to win in the second set in a tiebreaker, 7-6(4). Heading into the third set, both girls knew the team score rested on their shoulders, and crowds had gathered to watch the two opponents fight for the match. Matache made it clear from the start that she had the momentum on her side, and it was going to be an uphill battle for Markovic. Markovic had the first serve, and Matache broke her easily, taking the 1-0 lead and feeding off the home court crowd. From there, the two stayed on serve for two games, and Matache held the 2-1 lead at the changeover. On serve again, Matache increased her lead to 3-1, and seemed to be in the zone. Markovic began to struggle however, and in the fifth game, served two double faults, helping Matache break her serve, and take the 4-1 lead. From there, it was all Matache, as she won the sixth game to go up 5-1, and broke Markovic once again, taking the 6-1 win in the third set, and clinching the team victory for the Lions.

With Matache's huge win at No. 5, the Lions took the 4-3 win, handing a previously undefeated Buffalo squad its first loss of the season, and improving to 3-5 overall.

Up next for the Lions is another match at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center, as Columbia will host local rival Long Island, Saturday, February 27 at 12 p.m.

Columbia 4, Buffalo 3

Doubles
1.    Harijanto/Petrova (BU) def. Bartnik/Donovan (CU), 8-4
2.    Golenko/Markovic (BU) def. Makarova/Davis (CU), 8-7
3.    Toia/Popescu (BU) def. Natalia Christenson/Matache, 8-5

Order of Finish: 3, 1*, 2

Singles
1.    Nicole Bartnik (CU) def. Denise Harijanto (BU), 6-3, 6-1
2.    Natasha Makarova (CU) def. Diana Popescu (BU), 6-2, 6-2
3.    Chelsea Davis (CU) def. Aleksandra Petrova (BU), 6-1, 6-4
4.    Kira Golenko (BU) def. Carling Donovan (CU), 6-4, 7-6(1)
5.    Eliza Matache (CU) def. Tamara Markovic (BU), 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-1
6.    Diana Toia (BU) def. Diana Shapoval (CU), 6-4, 7-5

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 6, 4, 5*