Men’s Tennis To Host Hofstra, Bryant In Saturday Doubleheader

Saturday, April 1

New York, N.Y.

11:00 AM

Columbia University

Hofstra

Men’s Tennis To Host Hofstra, Bryant In Saturday Doubleheader

3/31/2023 9:08:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Garret Sulak

NEW YORK – The No. 10 ranked Columbia men's tennis team will host Hofstra and Bryant for one last tune-up before Ivy League play starts next week.

The Lions will play Hofstra at 11 a.m. before capping off the doubleheader with a 4 p.m. match against Bryant on Saturday at the new Columbia Tennis Center.

BACK AT HOME

The Lions return home after a five-match road stand. In their last match at the Columbia Tennis Center, the Lions rolled to a 4-0 sweep of No. 12 Northwestern.

Columbia spent spring break in California, where the Lions won four matches. The Lions got the trip started with a 4-3 win against Santa Clara. Columbia then earned wins over No. 27 California, No. 44 Pepperdine and No. 32 UCLA.

With the win at UCLA, Columbia became the first Ivy League school to ever beat UCLA in men's tennis. UCLA was previously 1-0 against Columbia before the Lions tied the series. UCLA also had wins against Ivy League members Harvard, Princeton, Yale. Columbia also notched their first-ever win against Pepperdine during the trip. The Lions earned their third win in program history against California. Columbia previously defeated California twice during the 2015 season.

Following the Saturday doubleheader with Hofstra and Bryant, the Lions will begin Ivy League action on the road at No. 49 Princeton. Columbia will host Penn, Yale, Brown and Cornell at home as part of the Ivy League slate.

LIONS IN THE RANKINGS

Three singles players and one doubles group are currently featured in the ITA rankings. First-year Michael Zheng has been ranked all spring. He came in at No. 14 in the first singles rankings and reached the No. 8 spot. Zheng is currently ranked No. 13 as the highest ranked individual on the team with a 10-2 record this spring. Roko Horvat checks in at No. 89 in singles with a 6-4 record this spring. Max Westphal takes the No. 87 in the most recent singles rankings as he is 6-3 in spring dual matches. Westphal and Theo Winegar checked in at No. 34 in the doubles rankings.

As a team, the Lions started the season ranked No. 22 in the ITA team rankings. Columbia currently sits at No. 10 in the current ITA rankings.

Columbia jumped one spot up to No. 21 after the first week of dual action. The Lions then moved up to No. 19 and jumped to No. 11 after defeating Harvard to win the ECAC Championship.

The Lions reached their highest ranking of the season last week as they took the No. 9 spot before losing at No. 20 Tennessee.

The team ranking marks the ninth year in a row that the Columbia men's tennis team has achieved a top-25 ranking. This is also the fourth time since 2018 that the Columbia men's tennis team is ranked in the top 10.

"Our players have become more dedicated to each other and the program, so the ranking is a nice accomplishment," Bidyut K. Goswami Head Coach of Men's Tennis Howard Endelman '87CC said. "We just want to get a little better every day, on and off the court and see where it takes us."

THE MATCHUPS

Hofstra comes into the match with a 6-5 record. Last time out, the Pride lost a 6-1 dual match to Delaware. Fellow Ivy League member, Brown took a 7-0 win over Hofstra back on March 4.

Bryant is 4-14 overall entering the weekend. The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back wins against Nichols and Quinnipiac.

FOLLOWING THE LIONS

Stay up to date on all things Columbia Men's Tennis by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsMTEN), Instagram (@culionsmten) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).