10/16/2014 1:50:00 PM | Men's Tennis
NEW YORK – The Columbia men's tennis team continues as the Lions ready for a critical fall event, the United States Tennis Association (USTA)/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast Regional Championships. The top collegiate talent in the Northeast will take the court at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Oct. 16-21.
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#USTAITARegionals
To follow the action at the regional event, fans are encouraged to use the official hashtag #USTAITARegioanls to see content from participating schools, coaches, student-athletes and the ITA.
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Scene Setter
Competition is set to begin Thursday, Oct. 16 with qualifying singles matches. The unseeded main draw singles and doubles action is slated for Friday, Oct. 17 with the seeded singles players and doubles teams in action on Saturday, Oct. 18.
USTA/ITA Regionals
This will be one of 24 USTA/ITA Regional Championships for NCAA Division I men and women taking place over the middle two weekends of October at campuses throughout the country.
What's at Stake
Players are competing for an automatic entry into the 2014 USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships Nov. 6-9 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. Singles and doubles champions will each receive a berth.
Singles Main Draw
The main draw will feature a singles draw of 128 and a doubles draw of 64. In singles, 80 players will compete with 24 receiving byes for the first round.
Columbia will be represented in the singles main draw by seniors Winston Lin, Ashok Narayana, Max Schnur and Bert Vancura, juniors Dragos Ignat and Mike Vermeer while classmate Richard Pham and sophomore Eric Rubin vie for a spot in the main draw through the qualifying round.
Doubles
A trio of Columbia teams will take the doubles court in Ashok Narayana/Max Schnur, Mike Vermeer/Winston Lin and Dragos Ignat/Bert Vancura.
Last Time Out
The Columbia men's tennis team concluded competition at the 2014 ITA Men's Tennis All-American Championships on Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. Four Lions Traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to compete against the nations' best-of-the-best in college tennis.
More Reading: Men's Tennis Concludes Play at 2014 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships
Rank and File Columbia received national recognition by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in the preseason rankings as four Lions were recognized. Winston Lin begins his senior campaign ranked No. 8 in the nation in singles while junior Mike Vermeer and senior Ashok Narayana land No. 107 and No. 108, respectively. Columbia also had a pair on the doubles list as Narayana and senior Max Schnur come in at No. 6.
More Reading: Lin Headlines Men's Tennis ITA Preseason Rankings, All-American Championships Selection
All-Stars
Columbia men's tennis duo Ashok Narayana and Max Schnur were among a collection of the best collegiate tennis players from the 2013-14 season as the pair was named to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association 2014 ITA All-Star Team. Narayana and Schur not only helped the Lions to a history book season with the deepest run in program history to the Sweet Sixteen and their 11th Ancient Eight crown, but won the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship, the first major title in Columbia history.
More Reading: Narayana, Schnur Garner ITA All-Star Team Honors
Hall of Famer: Columbia men's tennis will see its former standout and current associate head coach Howard Endelman '87CC and its 1987 squad inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame this October.
More Reading: Hall of Fame Series: Howard Endelman '87CC and the 1987 Men's Tennis Team
Up Next
The Lions will head south for the ESPN/Florida State Invitational Friday, Oct. 31 through Sunday, Nov. 2.
