NEW YORK – First-year
Nicolas Kotzen finished off No. 11 Columbia's 4-0 sweep of No. 12 Northwestern with a win in singles play on Friday night at the Columbia Tennis Center. The Lions are winners of seven-straight dual matches as they move to 7-1 on the season.
"It was a special night opening up the new facility," Bidyut K. Goswami Head Coach of Men's Tennis
Howard Endelman said. "We always have terrific matches with Northwestern. We always know that every court is going to be tough to beat on both sides and our guys played well."
Friday night's match was the men's team's first chance to play a match in the new Columbia Tennis Center. The ranked matchup drew a large crowd that was behind the Lions all night.
"It was so nice to look up on the balcony and see all those fans," Endelman said. "We have a lot to be thankful for. I am grateful for all the friends of the program who have been behind us for decades now and who made this facility a possibility. It is a dream come true."
The duo of
Roko Horvat and
Alex Kotzen got doubles action started with a 6-3 win against Natan Spear and Trice Pickens at the No. 3 spot.
Nicolas Kotzen and
Theo Winegar followed that up with another 6-3 win in the No. 2 doubles to secure the doubles point for the Lions to get the match started.
Max Westphal and
Michael Zheng teamed up to play the No. 1 spot. They faced Simen Bratholm and Steven Forman in a match that went unfinished at 5-5.
Heading into singles play, the Lions needed just three wins to clinch the match win. No. 81
Max Westphal got singles play started with a quick 7-5, 6-2 victory over Trice Pickens in the No. 4 singles to put the Lions up, 2-0.
Henry Ruger extended the Columbia lead again as he posted a decisive 6-4, 6-2 win against Gleb Blekher at the No. 6 spot.
Looking to clinch the Columbia sweep, all eyes were on singles No. 5, No.3, and No. 1 where the Lions had the chance to finish off the win.
Nicolas Kotzen finished off a 7-6, 6-2 win over Presley Thieneman first to secure the 4-0 Columbia sweep.
"The atmosphere was unbelievable,"
Nicolas Kotzen said. "Being able to play in a world-class facility like this in the first match against No. 12 Northwestern and being able to clinch for the 4-0 win. It was just an unreal feeling, especially as a freshman."
UP NEXT
The Lions take a short break before heading to California for a spring break trip. The Lions will play at Santa Clara, No. 35 California, No. 45 Pepperdine, and No. 33 UCLA during the trip.
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