1/22/2015 11:35:00 AM | Men's Tennis
| 2015 ITA KICK-OFF WEEKEND | |
| Date Venue Location Live Stats ITA Kick-Off Social Hashtags Tournament Notes |
Jan. 24-25 Eck Tennis Pavilion South Bend, Ind. UND.com/LiveStats 2015 ITA Kick-Off @GoColumbiaLions | @ColumbiaMTennis #TurnItBlue | #ITAKickoff Columbia Notes |
NEW YORK – The No. 16 Columbia men's tennis team will open its dual schedule at the ITA Kick-Off event in South Bend, Indiana, this weekend. The Lions first compete against No. 17 Tennessee Saturday, Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. and will then face either No. 14 Notre Dame of #24 Oklahoma State
STAY SOCIAL
Stay up-to-date with all the latest news and notes on Columbia Athletics by connecting with the Lions on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Be sure to use hashtags #TurnItBlue or #RoarLionRoar for an insider's look at Columbia's teams and student-athletes.
#ITAKICKOFF
To follow the action at all Kickoff events use the official hashtag #ITAKickoff to see content from participating schools, coaches, student-athletes and the ITA.
KICKING OFF 2015
The ITA Kick-Off Weekend features 15 campus sites nationwide with four teams at each site vying to advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The 15 women's teams to win both matches during ITA Kick-Off Weekend will advance to the 2015 ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championships, hosted by Virginia at the Boar's Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Virginia, Feb. 6-9.
| DATE Saturday, Jan. 24 Sunday, Jan. 25 |
TIME 10 a.m. 2 p.m. 10 a.m. 1 p.m. |
MATCH #17 Tennessee vs. #16 Columbia #14 Notre Dame vs. #24 Oklahoma State Consolation Match Champioinship Match |
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 ITA Kick-Off event not only sees four ranked teams, including two in the top-20 in No. 14 Notre Dame and No. 17 Tennessee, but seven singles players and seven doubles pairs ranked in the nation.
| SINGLES | DOUBLES | |||||
| NAME Mikelis Libietis Winston Lin Quentin Monaghan Arjun Kadhe Josh Hagar Jakob Sude Mike Vermeer |
SCHOOL Tennessee Columbia Notre Dame OSU Notre Dame OSU Columbia |
RANK 16 22 37 74 82 98 122 |
TEAM Libietis/Reese Lawson/Pecor Covalschi/Hagar Narayana/Schnur Kadhe/Sude Vermeer/Pham Dromsky/Smelyanski |
SCHOOL Tennessee Notre Dame Notre Dame Columbia OSU Columbia Tennessee |
RANK 2 8 9 10 12 21 45 |
|
SCOUTING NO. 17 TENNESSEE
The Vols are off to a 4-0 start after downing North Florida (5-2), Southern Illinois (6-1), Elon (5-2) and Mercer (6-1) at its own Spring Invitational Jan. 17-19.
Tennessee has gone undefeated in all singles matches in the top four positions with 16th-ranked Mikelis LIbietis leading the way as the Vols' ace. On the doubles court, Libietis teams up with Hunter Reese to form the nation's second-best pair and Tennessee's top tandem. The team has post a 3-0 record in the top position.
SCOUTING NO. 14 NOTRE DAME
The Irish opened the season with a 4-3 victory over then-No. 18 Kentucky. After dropping the doubles point, Notre Dame won four straight on the singles court to clinch the victory.
Four starters return from last season from an Irish squad that reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006-07. Quentien Monagghan and Josh Hagar lead the way as they both land on the ITA singles poll at No. 37 and No. 82, respectively. On the doubles side, Notre Dame is the only program in the country with two teams ranked in the top 10. Billy Pecor and Alex Lawson form the eighth best team, while Eddy Covalschi and Hagar land ninth.
SCOUTING NO. 24 OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowboys make the trip to South Bend, Indiana, with a 3-0 record after defeated Nebraska (5-2), Illinois State (5-1) and Oral Roberts (5-0) in its home opening weekend.
No. 74 Arjun Kadhe paced Oklahoma State in fall with a 7-3 ledger, but has not taken the court in the spring yet. No. 98 Jakob Sude, on the other hand, is unbeaten in dual action at 2-0. The pair makes up the 12th-ranked duo on the doubles court.
LIN CAPTURES CENTURY MARK
At the MLK Invitational, Winston Lin captured his 100th singles career victory. The senior has now won 50 singles matches in dual play and at invitationals during his time in Columbia blue.
LAST TIME OUT
Winston Lin earned his 100th career singles victory Sunday morning as the Columbia men's tennis team wrapped up play at the MLK Invitational at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
MORE READING: Lin Earns 100th Career Victory on Final Day of MLK Invite
UP NEXT
After a week off, Columbia will host the ECAC Championships at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center Feb. 13-16.
