Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin
Four Lions Garner 2019 ITA Northeast Regional Awards
5/18/2019 10:59:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Head Coach Bid Goswami, Associate Head Coach Howard Endelman, senior Victor Pham and sophomore Jack Lin each earned 2019 regional honors
NEW YORK — After advancing to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season, four members of the Columbia men's tennis team received 2019 ITA Northeast regional accolades, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Saturday. The Lions' coaching tandem of Alumni and Friends Head Coach of Men's Tennis Bid Goswami and Associate Head Coach Howard Endelman swept the coaching awards, while senior Victor Pham was named Northeast Senior Player of the Year and sophomore Jack Lin was tabbed Northeast Player to Watch.
In his final season at the helm, 37th-year head coach Goswami led the Lions to their sixth-straight Ivy League title to earn Wilson/ITA Northeast Coach of the Year alongside his successor, Endelman '87CC, the ITA Northeast Assistant Coach of the Year. Under their direction, Columbia finished the 2019 campaign with a 19-4 overall record and an unblemished 7-0 mark in conference matches with the only four losses coming against foes that would advance to at least the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Under Goswami and Endelman, Columbia advanced the ITA Indoor National Championship for the fourth time in five years, earning victories over No. 11 Notre Dame and No. 9 Baylor at the event. The Lions climbed as No. 8 in the ITA rankings in 2019, the second-highest team ranking in program history. The Lions reached their fourth-ever Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament after hosting the first and second rounds for the second-straight year by earning the No. 16 overall seed. Goswami was also named 2019 Ivy League Coach of the Year, while leading senior Victor Pham to Ivy League Player of the Year honors.
After being named Northeast Rookie of the Year in 2018, Lin gathers his second ITA honor after putting together an impressive sophomore campaign. The Markham, Ontario, native recorded a 25-8 overall singles record and went 27-9 in doubles matches, going undefeated in Ivy League singles matches. Earning rankings as high as No. 10 in singles and No. 4 in doubles, Lin was a First Team All-Ivy League selection in both singles and doubles. Teaming with senior William Matheson, the duo won the ITA Northeast Regional doubles title and earned the No. 1 overall seed to 2018 ITA Fall National Championship. After winning the New York Open College Wildcard tournament to qualify for the New York Open, Lin started off 2019 by claiming the MLK Invitational singles title with wins over No. 2 Jan Zielinksi (Georgia), Georgia Tech's No. 68 Cole Gromley, and Illinois' No. 44 Aleks Kovacevic. At No. 1 singles, Lin defeated Baylor's No. 29 Johannes Schretter and Notre Dame's No. 18 Alex Lebedev. Lin also paired with Jackie Tang earlier in the dual season for a 6-0 win over the No. 1 doubles team in the country in Baylor's Jimmy Bendeck/Sven Lah.
Despite missing the fall season due to injury, Pham came back strong in his senior campaign to be named ITA Northeast Senior Player of the Year. The honor comes weeks after being named the 2019 Ivy League Player of the Year for the second-straight year, becoming the first player in program history to earn the honor in back-to-back seasons. Pham started the season at No. 2 singles before moving back to the top court, compiling a 16-4 singles record including a 7-0 mark at No. 1 single in conference play. Playing on the No. 2 doubles court, Pham combined with sophomore Rian Pandole for an 18-2 record to claim Second Team All-Ivy doubles distinction. A native of Saratoga, California, Pham made his 2019 debut at the MLK Invitational in January, earning a 6-4, 6-4 win over Georgia's Emil Reinberg who is currently ranked No. 38 by the ITA.
A three-time First Team All-Ivy League singles selection, Pham has been a huge part of Columbia's recent success. The senior qualified for the 2019 NCAA Singles Tournament for the third-straight season, this year earning an at-large bid after finishing the regular season ranked No. 37 in the nation. Pham won the 2017 ITA Northeast regional singles title, going on to finish as the runner up at the 2017 Oracle ITA Masters, earning a victory over eventual 2018 NCAA singles champion Petros Chrysochos from Wake Forest. Pham tallied career-high ranking of No. 7 in both singles and doubles during his junior season.
The ITA national award winners will be announced Sunday.
Pham, Lin and Matheson will be back in action May 20-25, competing in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships in Orlando at the USTA Collegiate National Campus. Matheson and Lin will team up to compete in the 32-team doubles field, while Pham and Lin will each compete in the 64-person singles competition.
For the latest on the Columbia men's tennis, follow @ColumbiaMTennis on Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
In his final season at the helm, 37th-year head coach Goswami led the Lions to their sixth-straight Ivy League title to earn Wilson/ITA Northeast Coach of the Year alongside his successor, Endelman '87CC, the ITA Northeast Assistant Coach of the Year. Under their direction, Columbia finished the 2019 campaign with a 19-4 overall record and an unblemished 7-0 mark in conference matches with the only four losses coming against foes that would advance to at least the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Under Goswami and Endelman, Columbia advanced the ITA Indoor National Championship for the fourth time in five years, earning victories over No. 11 Notre Dame and No. 9 Baylor at the event. The Lions climbed as No. 8 in the ITA rankings in 2019, the second-highest team ranking in program history. The Lions reached their fourth-ever Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament after hosting the first and second rounds for the second-straight year by earning the No. 16 overall seed. Goswami was also named 2019 Ivy League Coach of the Year, while leading senior Victor Pham to Ivy League Player of the Year honors.
After being named Northeast Rookie of the Year in 2018, Lin gathers his second ITA honor after putting together an impressive sophomore campaign. The Markham, Ontario, native recorded a 25-8 overall singles record and went 27-9 in doubles matches, going undefeated in Ivy League singles matches. Earning rankings as high as No. 10 in singles and No. 4 in doubles, Lin was a First Team All-Ivy League selection in both singles and doubles. Teaming with senior William Matheson, the duo won the ITA Northeast Regional doubles title and earned the No. 1 overall seed to 2018 ITA Fall National Championship. After winning the New York Open College Wildcard tournament to qualify for the New York Open, Lin started off 2019 by claiming the MLK Invitational singles title with wins over No. 2 Jan Zielinksi (Georgia), Georgia Tech's No. 68 Cole Gromley, and Illinois' No. 44 Aleks Kovacevic. At No. 1 singles, Lin defeated Baylor's No. 29 Johannes Schretter and Notre Dame's No. 18 Alex Lebedev. Lin also paired with Jackie Tang earlier in the dual season for a 6-0 win over the No. 1 doubles team in the country in Baylor's Jimmy Bendeck/Sven Lah.
Despite missing the fall season due to injury, Pham came back strong in his senior campaign to be named ITA Northeast Senior Player of the Year. The honor comes weeks after being named the 2019 Ivy League Player of the Year for the second-straight year, becoming the first player in program history to earn the honor in back-to-back seasons. Pham started the season at No. 2 singles before moving back to the top court, compiling a 16-4 singles record including a 7-0 mark at No. 1 single in conference play. Playing on the No. 2 doubles court, Pham combined with sophomore Rian Pandole for an 18-2 record to claim Second Team All-Ivy doubles distinction. A native of Saratoga, California, Pham made his 2019 debut at the MLK Invitational in January, earning a 6-4, 6-4 win over Georgia's Emil Reinberg who is currently ranked No. 38 by the ITA.
A three-time First Team All-Ivy League singles selection, Pham has been a huge part of Columbia's recent success. The senior qualified for the 2019 NCAA Singles Tournament for the third-straight season, this year earning an at-large bid after finishing the regular season ranked No. 37 in the nation. Pham won the 2017 ITA Northeast regional singles title, going on to finish as the runner up at the 2017 Oracle ITA Masters, earning a victory over eventual 2018 NCAA singles champion Petros Chrysochos from Wake Forest. Pham tallied career-high ranking of No. 7 in both singles and doubles during his junior season.
The ITA national award winners will be announced Sunday.
Pham, Lin and Matheson will be back in action May 20-25, competing in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships in Orlando at the USTA Collegiate National Campus. Matheson and Lin will team up to compete in the 32-team doubles field, while Pham and Lin will each compete in the 64-person singles competition.
For the latest on the Columbia men's tennis, follow @ColumbiaMTennis on Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
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