2/12/2015 1:17:00 PM | Men's Tennis
| 2015 ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championships | |
| Date Venue Location Hosts Live Stats (Courts 1-7) Live Stats (Courts 9-14) Live Stream Schedule Indoor Championships Social Hashtags Tournament Notes |
Feb. 13-16 Midtown Athletic Club Chicago, Ill. University of Chicago Live Stats 1 Live Stast 2 Video Tournament Schedule Tournament Hub @GoColumbiaLions | @ColumbiaMTennis | @ITATennis #TurnItBlue | #ITAIndoors Columbia Notes |
NEW YORK – For the first time in two decades, the No. 15 Columbia men's tennis team will compete for the 2015 ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championship Feb. 13-16 at the Midtown Athletic Club in Chicago, Illinois.
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#ITAINDOORS
To follow the action at the national championship use the official hashtag #ITAIndoors to see content from participating schools, coaches, student-athletes and the ITA.
THE FIELD
Sixteen of the Top 25 teams in the country are set to vie for the title at the 41st annual ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championship. The Trojans of the University of South California lead a deep field that includes the top 11 teams in the ITA rankings with eight past champions competing in the event including No. 3 seed Virginia who five of six titles from 2008-13.
FAMILIAR FOE
As the 13th seed, the Lions drew fourth-seeded Georgia in the first round. At the 2014 ITA Kick-Off Weekend, the then-No. 43 Lions pushed the Bulldogs to the brink of defeat, showing glimpses of what was to be a 22-2 season and a meteoric rise to No. 16 in the ITA Rankings.
Columbia and Georgia faced off at the beginning of the 2015 campaign at the MLK Invitational Jan. 17-19. In the hidden dual, the Bulldogs swept the doubles point before Shawn Hadavi broke up the run with a victory on the sixth court. The Lions could not continue momentum despite going the distance on a number of singles courts and Georgia took the match.
MORE READING: No. 16 Men's Tennis Takes on No. 8 Georgia on Day 1 at MLK Invite
LOWDOWN ON THE NO. 15 LIONS (2-0)
Columbia kicked off its 2015 at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in South Bend, Indiana. The Lions used stellar singles play to lift them over then-No. 17 Tennessee, 4-3, and then-No. 14 Notre Dame, 4-2.
Through two matches, Columbia is unbeaten on the second, third and fourth singles courts with Dragos Ignat, Max Schnur and Ashok Narayana playing in those spots, respectively. Mike Vermeer also boasts an unbeaten singles record in the fifth position and sixth spot. Igant is one of two Lions ranked as the junior comes in at 76th, while Winston Lin sits 13th.
In doubles, Vermeer and Lin have teamed up for the Lions lone doubles victory this season. Columbia has two tandems ranked in the ITA with Narayana and Schnur sitting 12th, while Vermeer and Richard Pham rank 26th.
SCOUTING NO. 4 GEORGIA (4-1)
The Bulldogs opened the season with a convincing showing at their own ITA Kick-Off Event with a 4-1 win over Michigan State and sweep of Utah. From there, No. 4 Georgia split at the SEC/PAC-12 showdown. The Bulldogs took down UCLA, 4-2, but were blanked by USC, 4-0. Last week the Bulldogs got back on the winning track with a 4-3 triumph at Georgia Tech to bring a 4-1 record into nationals.
With three different single players in the ITA top-25, the Bulldogs are undefeated on the third and fifth singles courts and hold a winning record in all, but the sixth position. All of Georgia's players have moved to different positions with No. 15 Nathan Pasha and No. 17 Wayne Montgomery splitting tip as the Bulldogs' ace. Both Pasha and Montgomery boast 1-1 records at No. 1, respectively.
On the doubles court, Ben Wagland and Paul Oosterbaan team up for the 25th ranked pair, while Austin Smith and Eric Diaz are 53rd.
IN THE RANKINGS
After their performance at ITA Kick-Off Weekend, the Lions posted the program's highest ITA Ranking at No. 13. Since then, Columbia has been away from competition while preparing for nationals and has slipped to No. 15.
RELATED LINK: ITA RANKINGS
LAST TIME OUT
For the second time in as many days, the No. 16 Columbia men's tennis team used its singles play to clinch a 4-2 victory over No. 14 Notre Dame at the Eck Tennis Pavilion in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend final.
Improving to 2-0 on the year, the Lions now punch their ticket to the 2015 ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championships, to be played Feb. 13-16 at the Midtown Athletic Club. Columbia will be making the trip to nationals for the first time in over two decades while the win over the 14th-ranked Irish is the highest ranked opponent the Lions have ever upset in program history.
MORE READING: No. 16 Men's Tennis Edges No. 14 Notre Dame; National Team Indoors Await
UP NEXT
The Lions will return to the Big Apple to home a three-match homestand. First up for Columbia is NYC foe, St. John's Saturday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center.
