NEW YORK – The Columbia men's tennis team earned its first win of the year in the home opener, as the Lions downed the Boston College Eagles, 5-2. 

Columbia started the match off on the right foot, as the Lions won the doubles point, getting wins in the Nos. 1 and 3 spots. Junior Haig Schneiderman and first-year Tizian Bucher beat BC's Erik Kreutzer and Alex Skinner, 8-5 in the No. 1 spot, while sophomore Nathaniel Gery and junior Rajeev Deb-Sen also won 8-5 in the No. 3 spot. Boston College was able to get a win in the No. 2 spot, 8-4, but Columbia had the 2-1 advantage, and took the doubles point to go up 1-0 in the team match. 

Singles also started well for the Lions, as every member of the team notched a first set win over their opponents. And four of those six went on to win in straight sets. Sophomore Cyril Bucher was the first to earn a point for Columbia, as he beat Skinner in the fastest match of the night, 6-3, 6-0 in the No. 3 spot. Next was Gery at No. 4, who beat Michael McGinnis, 6-2, 6-2. 

Meanwhile, Tizian Bucher was waging a batte in the No. 5 spot. After winning the first set with ease, 6-1, Tizian lost the second set in a tough fight, 7-5, before falling in the third to Jonathan Raude, 6-2. With Raude's win, Boston College was finally on the board, 3-1. 

The Nos. 1 and 2 singles matches seemed to be where the match would be decided, and both duos were battling hard. At No. 1, Schneiderman was facing off against Akash Muppidi, who went 19-5 in singles last season as a sophomore. Though Muppidi fought well, Scheniderman came out on top, clinching the match for the Lions in a tiebreaker. Schneiderman won 7-5, 7-6(3), giving Columbia it's fourth point of the night, assuring the team win, 4-1. Just a few minutes later, sophomore John Yetimoglu followed suit in the No. 2 spot, as he beat Erik Kreutzer, 7-5, 7-5. 

The last match to finish up was the No. 6 singles spot, where Deb-Sen and Jonathan Schroeder were battling it out. Deb-Sen had taken the first set 6-4, but Schroeder came back and won it, 6-1 in the second and 6-2 in the third. 

With the 5-2 win, Columbia starts the season 1-0 overall. Up next for the Lions is the 2011 ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Columbia will travel to Louisville, Ky., for the first round of the ITA National Indoors Tournament. Friday, January 28th. 

1. Schneiderman/T. Bucher (COL)  def. Kreutzer/Skinner (BC), 8-5

2. Billy Grokenberger/Muppidi (BC) def. C. Bucher/Matsumoto (COL), 8-4

3. Gery/Deb-Sen (COL) def. McGinnis/Adam Davidson (BC), 8-5

1. Haig Schneiderman (COL) def. Akash Muppidi (BC), 7-5, 7-6 (3)

2. John Yetimoglu (COL) def. Erik Kreutzer (BC), 7-5, 7-5

3. Cyril Bucher (COL) def. Alex Skinner (BC), 6-3, 6-0

4. Nathaniel Gery (COL) def. Michael McGinnis (BC), 6-2, 6-2

5. Jonathan Raude (BC)  def. Tizian Bucher (COL) , 1-6, 7-5, 6-2

6. Jonathan Schroeder (BC) def. Rajeev Deb-Sen (COL), 4-6, 6-1, 6-2