No. 16 Men's Tennis Travels to MLK Invitational to Open 2015 Slate
1/15/2015 11:09:00 AM | Men's Tennis
| MLK INVITATIONAL | |
| Date Venue Location Live Stats Social Hashtags Tournament Notes |
Jan. 17-19 Ken Byers Tennis Complex Atlanta, Ga. GoColumbiaLions.com/LiveStats @GoColumbiaLions | @ColumbiaMTennis #TurnItBlue Columbia Notes |
NEW YORK – The No. 16 Columbia men's tennis team makes the trip to the Peach State to open its 33rd season under the guidance of The Columbia Tennis Alumni and Friends Head Coach of Men's Tennis Bid Goswami at the MLK Invitational in Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 17-19.
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SCENE SETTER
The invitational kicks off each day at a dual match at 9 a.m. followed by a second match starting at 2 p.m. Both singles and doubles will follow no-ad scoring with doubles matches played to 6, with a tie-break at 6-all, and singles matches played best 2 out of 3 sets with tie-breaks at 6-all. There will be a five-minute break between doubles and singles matches with all matches played to competition. At the end of the three-day tournament, an individual singles and doubles champion will be crowned.
| DATE Saturday, Jan. 17 9 a.m. 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan .18 9 a.m. 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19 9 a.m. 2 p.m. |
MATCH #8 Georgia vs. #16 Columbia #2 Oklahoma vs. #75 Georgia Tech #2 Oklahoma vs. #8 Georgia #16 Columbia vs. #75 Georgia Tech #2 Oklahoma vs. #16 Columbia #8 Georgia vs. #75 Georgia Tech |
SCOUTING THE FIELD
The event is being held at Georgia Tech's Ken Byers Tennis Complex and will see opponents from four different programs. Joining the Lions at the invite will be No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 8 Georgia and No. 75 Georgia Tech.
IN THE RANKINGS
In the initial ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings of 2015, the Columbia squad debuted at No. 16, matching the program's best ranking, which was set last season.
Winston Lin headlines a pair of Lions on the singles poll as the senior comes in at No. 22 while junior Mike Vermeer checks in at No. 124.
Vermeer also appears on the doubles list with sophomore partner Richard Pham at No. 21. The Columbia senior tandem of Ashok Narayana and Max Schnur round out the national top-ten at No. 10.
RELATED LINK: No. 16 Men's Tennis Matches Program's Best Ranking in Initial ITA Poll
TO BE THE BEST, YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST
The invitational not only sees four ranked teams, including two in the top-10 in No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 8 Georgia, but 13 singles players and seven doubles pairs ranked in the nation.
| SINGLES | DOUBLES | |||||
| NAME Austin Smith Axel Alvarez Llamas Andrew Harris Winston Lin Wayne Montgomery Dane Webb Nathan Rakitt Alexandru Ghilea Arjun Kadhe Jakob Sude Nick Wood Mike Vermeer |
SCHOOL Georgia Oklahoma Oklahoma Columbia Georgia Oklahoma Georgia Tech Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma Georgia Columbia |
RANK 11 14 20 22 32 33 49 55 74 98 101 124 |
TEAM A. Narayana/M. Schnur A. Kadhe/J. Sude B. Wagland/P. Oosterbaan M. Vermeer/R. Pham A. Smith/E. Diaz A. Llamas/D. Webb N. Pasha/W. Montgomery |
SCHOOL Columbia Oklahoma Georgia Columbia Georgia Oklahoma Georgia |
RANK 10 12 16 21 34 38 53 |
|
LIN LOOKS FOR CENTURY MARK
Entering his final spring campaign in Columbia blue Winston Lin is on the cusp of reaching the 100 win mark as the senior is only two victories away from reaching the milestone.
RAPID REWIND
The Lions are coming off a successful fall season in which they went 77-39 in individual matches and 32-34 in doubles play over the course of three invitational's and three championship tournaments.
For the second straight season senior Winston Lin captured the ITA Northeast Regional singles title to punch his ticket to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships main draw. Lin downed his classmate Ashok Narayana who joined him in the singles main draw at NIIC's and took the doubles court with Max Schnur. Also representing the Lions at the national tournament was the tandem of sophomore Richard Pham and junior Mike Vermeer.
Twelve of the 13 players that took the singles court in the autumn hold a .500 record or better with Lin and first-year Taiyo Hamanaka leading the with .800 marks. Lin has played in the most matches and boasts a 12-3 record while Hamanaka sits at 4-1. Junior Eric Rubin is close behind at 11-3 (.786) while Vermeer (7-2) and first-year Daniel Grunberger (7-3) round out the Lions with a .700 or higher winning percentage.
Naryana and Schnur are Columbia's staple doubles tandem and recorded 11 victories in 20 outings this fall.
LAST TIME OUT
Ashok Narayana and Max Schnur of the Columbia men's tennis team fell in the doubles consolation final at the 2014 USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Sunday, Nov. 9.
Naryana and Schnur, the sixth-ranked pair in the nation, could not outlast Ohio State's duo of Kevin Metka and Ralf Steinbach, who rank 16th in the ITA.
MORE READING: Narayana/Schnur Fall in Doubles Consolation Final at 2014 USTA/ITA NIIC
ROARIN' RETURNERS
Columbia welcomes back 14 letterwinners in 2014-15 from a team that put together a historic 2014 with the program's first NCAA Championship Sweet Sixteen run. That stretch included the Lions' 11th Ivy League Championship with a perfect 7-0 conference record and 22-2 overall mark.
Reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Winston Lin headlines the returning group. The senior from Williamsville, New York, enters his final campaign in Columbia Blue ranked No. 22 in the nation in singles after producing a team-high 31 wins including a perfect 16-0 dual season as the Lions ace a year ago.
Lin's classmates Ashok Naryana and Max Schnur come back as Columbia's top-doubles tandem and the 10th-best pair in the ITA. A year ago, Narayana and Schnur captured the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championship, the first major title in Columbia history and garnered All-Ivy League first team doubles accolades after partnering for 11 wins with a perfect 5-0 Ivy League record.
FIRST-YEARS
The Lions welcome three members of the Class of 2018 to Morningside Heights for 2014-15. The trio is made up of two New York locals, Daniel Grunberger and Taiyo Hamanaka and Florida native, Alex Saltiel.
MORE READING: Men's Tennis Brings Aboard Three Newcomers for 2014-15
AT THE HELM
Bid Goswami, The Columbia Tennis Alumni and Friends Head Coach of Men's Tennis, enters his 34th season at the helm of the Lions. Columbia has thrived during Goswami's tenure winning 11 Ivy League titles and making five appearances in the NCAA Championships including last season's historic Sweet Sixteen run.
LIONS LEADERS
Three seniors have been elected as tri-captains for 2014-15 as Ashok Narayana, Max Schnur and Bert Vancura share the leadership responsibilities.
MORE READING: Men's Tennis Names Trio of Seniors as 2014-15 Captains.
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 seasons the pair was named to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association 2014 ITA All-Star Team. Narayana and Schnur 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 Championships, the first major title in Columbia history.
MORE READING: Narayana, Schnur Garner ITA All-Star Team Honors
HALL OF FAMER
Columbia men's tennis saw its former standout and current associate head coach Howard Endelman '87CC and its 1987 squad inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame October 23.
MORE READING: Hall of Fame Series: Howard Endelman '87CC and the 1987 Men's Tennis Team
UP NEXT
The Lions kick off its dual meet schedule when they travel to South Bend, Indiana, Jan. 24-25 for ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Columbia takes the court against Tennessee Saturday, Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. and will either face Oklahoma State or Notre Dame Sunday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m.
Players Mentioned
