MADISON, Wis. — Playing against its third-straight top-15 opponent in a matter of six days, the No. 9 Columbia men's tennis team earned a bounce-back victory over No. 14 South Carolina, 4-2, on Saturday evening in the consolation draw of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wisconsin.
 
With the win, the Lions move to 4-2 on the 2020 campaign, while the Gamecocks fall to 5-3 overall.

"I was proud of our competitive spirit and sustained effort-level to take down an excellent, national top-15 South Carolina team," said Columbia head coach Howard Endelman.

"Every match is tough and your mentality has to be that you are willing to roll up your sleeves and fight as hard as you can for every point, over and over and over. Nothing is easy. After losing the doubles point, the guys came out and won four first sets to turn the tide. This was a complete team effort for the Lions that I was privileged to be a part of." 

South Carolina gained the early advantage as Columbia dropped the doubles point for the third consecutive match. The Gamecocks struck first as Columbia's two-team of Rian Pandole/Adam Ambrozy fell, 6-3, to 36th-ranked Connor Thomson/Paul Jubb, but the Lions fired back as Jason Lui/Alex Kotzen claimed court three with a 6-4 result. Coming down to the top court, the fifth-ranked tandem of Jack Lin/Jackie Tang fell, 6-4.
 
Putting the opening point behind them, Columbia came out strong from the get-go in singles, taking the first set on 4-of-6 courts. First-year and 99th-ranked Kotzen was the first to capitalize, picking up a 6-3, 6-2, triumph at five singles to remain unbeaten in dual matches. Junior Austen Huang followed suit, toppling Thomas Brown with a matching 6-3, 6-2, result on court six to give Columbia its' first lead of the match. Huang is also undefeated in singles play this dual season.
 
The Gamecocks took one back as Pandole was defeated, 6-2, 6-4, by No. 36 Rodrigues, but that didn't seem to phase the Lions as they looked poised to finish things out in winning fashion. On court two, No. 109 Tang picked up a huge ranked win over No. 38 Raphael Lambling, 6-4, 7-5, and Ambrozy finished almost immediately after, getting a ranked win of his own over No. 115 Thomson, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
 
Columbia will face the winner of Baylor vs. Wisconsin on Sunday, Feb. 16, at 6:30 p.m. CT.

For the latest on the Columbia men's tennis, follow @ColumbiaMTennis on Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.