Eight All-Ivy Accolades For League Champion Men's Tennis; Goswami Named Coach of the Year
4/30/2015 3:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
PRINCETON, N.J. – After clinching its second straight outright Ivy League title, the Columbia men's tennis team garnered eight All-Ivy League accolades, the league announced Thursday. The eight All-Ivy nods represent the most for the men's tennis team in program history.
In addition, Bid Goswami, The Columbia Tennis Alumni and Friends Head Coach of Men's Tennis, received the league's inaugural Coach of the Year Award, helping Columbia win its 10th conference crown since he arrived in Morningside Heights in 1982. The Lions' perfect Ancient Eight season was also the sixth for Goswami and second in as many years.
Winston Lin capped off his Ivy League career as a unanimous first-team All-Ivy League singles selection for the fourth time. Lin held down the top singles spot for the Lions in each of his campaigns in Columbia blue and did not falter as a senior, going 5-2 in Ivy League matches and 12-8 in the spring schedule.
Ashok Narayana highlighted the honorees, garnering his fourth doubles first-team honor to become the first Lion in program history to be named to the All-Ivy League doubles first team each year of his career. To go along with the doubles nod, the Houston native picked up second-team singles recognition for the third time in his career for his superior play in the third and fourth spots in the line-up.
Narayana's doubles partners Max Schnur and Dragos Ignat were also selected to the doubles team. Schnur joins Narayana with his fourth first-team nod in his career, while Ignat garnered a second team selection to go along with his third first-team singles honor.
Rounding out Columbia's honorees is Mike Vermeer. The junior kept his Ivy League singles record perfect as he went 6-0 against conference opponents and was unbeaten in dual play at 12-0 in positions three through six en route to second team singles honors. Vermeer did not just contribute to singles play, as he teamed up with Lin for the Lions top tandem to help Columbia clinch 14 doubles points this spring. For his efforts, Vermeer earned a spot on the doubles second team. The conference accolades are the first of Vermeer's career.
The Lions now sets their sights on the NCAA tournament, where they will face Georgia Tech Friday, May 8 in the first-round. Columbia will travel to Oxford, Mississippi, for the regional round with Ole Miss serving as the host institution.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Dovydas Sakinis, Dartmouth (Jr. – Siauliai, Lithuania)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Ciro Riccardi, Dartmouth (Fr. – Los Angeles)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Bid Goswami, Columbia
FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY
Singles
Dragos Ignat, Columbia (Jr. – Bacau, Romania)
* Winston Lin, Columbia (Sr. – Williamsville, N.Y.)
* Dovydas Sakinis, Dartmouth (Jr. – Siauliai, Lithuania)
* Denis Nguyen, Harvard (Sr. – Anaheim, Calif.)
* Zack McCourt, Princeton (Sr. – Sunrise, Fla.)
Tyler Lu, Yale (So. – Irvine, Calif.)
Doubles
Ashok Narayana, Columbia (Sr. – Houston)
Max Schnur, Columbia (Sr. – Richmond, Va.)
Dovydas Sakinis, Dartmouth (Jr. Siauliai, Lithuania)
Denis Nguyen, Harvard (Sr. – Anaheim, Calif.)
Stefan Doehler, Yale (Fr. – Tustin, Calif.)
Fedor Andrienko, Yale (Fr. – Moscow)
SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY
Singles
Justin To, Brown (Sr. – Hong Kong)
Ashok Narayana, Columbia (Sr. – Houston)
Mike Vermeer, Columbia (Jr. – Steinsel, Luxembourg)
Samuel Fleck, Cornell (Sr. – Cambridge, England)
Chris Kipouras, Dartmouth (Sr. – San Ramon, Calif.)
Thomas Colautti, Princeton (So. – London)
Doubles
Dragos Ignat, Coumbia (Sr. – Bacau, Romania)
Mike Vermeer, Columbia (Jr. – Steinsel, Luxembourg)
Bernardo Casares Rosa, Cornell (So. – Quito, Ecuador)
Chris Vrabel, Cornell (So. – Centerville, Va.)
Chris Kipouras, Dartmouth (Sr. – San Ramon, Calif.)
Brian Yeung, Harvard (So. – Hong Kong)
*Unanimous Selection
