ORLANDO, Fla. — Columbia men's tennis started off the week strong at the 2019 NCAA Singles Championship on Monday afternoon, as senior Victor Pham and sophomore Jack Lin each earned first-round victories to move on to Tuesday's second round in Orlando at the USTA National Campus.
 
Starting things off, 22nd-ranked Lin took down Notre Dame's No. 35 Alex Lebedev, 6-2, 7-5, defending his victory after defeating Lebedev, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in Columbia's dual match against the Fighting Irish on Feb. 16. Lin will move on to the round of 32 facing another familiar foe in Texas A&M's No. 31 Carlos Aguilar. The pair squared off on Oct. 1, 2017, in the ITA All-America Pre-Qualifying draw, where Aguilar won, 7-5, 6-3.
 
Pham kept the winning going, registering a quick 6-2, 6-2 win over Georgia Tech's No. 27 Carlos Divar. The 37th-ranked senior will face Texas' No. 12 Yuya Ito in the second round. Ito was recently named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2019 NCAA Tournament after clinching the team national championship for Texas on Sunday.
 
Tuesday also marks the start of the NCAA Doubles Championship, where Lin and senior William Matheson will team up to take on Tennessee's sixth-ranked pair of Timo Stodder and Preston Touliatos. Doubles action is set to begin at 10 a.m. ET.
 
For the latest on the Columbia men's tennis, follow @ColumbiaMTennis on Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
 
2019 NCAA SINGLES AND DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
Singles
Round of 64
No. 22 Jack Lin (COL) def. No. 35 Alex Lebedev (ND), 6-2, 7-5
No. 37 Victor Pham (COL) def. No. 27 Carlos Divar (GT), 6-2, 6-2