No. 10 Men’s Tennis Sweeps Penn State, 4-0

Sunday, February 11

New York, N.Y.

1:00 PM

Columbia University

Penn State

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.

2/11/2024 11:48:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score (PDF)

Columbia finishes the weekend with two wins

By: Garret Sulak

NEW YORK – The 10^th-ranked Columbia men's tennis team worked quick to take a 4-0 win against Penn State on Sunday afternoon at the Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center.

Columbia improves to 6-1 overall this season after defeating No. 7 Tennessee on Friday and defeating Penn State Sunday.

The Lions rolled through doubles with wins in the No. 1 and 2 positions to start the match with a 1-0 lead over Penn State. The duo of Michael Zheng and Theo Winegar earned a 6-1 win over Stefan Simeunovic and Jack Martuccio in the top doubles. The 24^th-ranked pair of Nicolas Kotzen and Max Westphal clinched the doubles point for Columbia with a 6-2 win against Nolan Ranger and Ari Cotoulas in the No. 2 spot.

No. 15 Zheng recorded the first singles win of the match as his opponent, Simeunovic retired in the first set.

Henry Ruger and No. 101 Alex Kotzen closed out the Columbia win with singles victories. Ruger posted a 6-1, 6-0 win against Alexander Sterin in the No. 5 singles. No. 101 Alex Kotzen clinched the match for Columbia with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Ranger in the No. 2 spot.

Ishaan Ravichander, Westphal and Sachin Palta also played singles Sunday. All three won the first set of their matches and held the lead in the second set when the match was clinched.

The Lions now turn their focus to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships being hosted by Columbia next weekend. The bracket will be announced in the next few days, but Columbia will play its first match on Friday, February 16 at 6:30 p.m. inside the Milstein Family Tennis Center.

RESULTS
#10 Columbia 4, Penn State 0

Doubles
1. Michael Zheng/Theo Winegar (COL) def. Stefan Simeunovic/Jack Martuccio (PSU) 6-1
2. #24 Nicolas Kotzen/Max Westphal (COL) def. Nolan Ranger/Ari Cotoulas (PSU) 6-2
3. Alex Kotzen/Sachin Palta (COL) vs. Alexander Sterin/Ritvik Nadikude (PSU) 5-2 (unfinished)

Singles
1. #15 Michael Zheng (COL) def. Stefan Simeunovic (PSU) 5-0, retired
2. #101 Alex Kotzen (COL) def. Nolan Ranger (PSU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Ishaan Ravichander (COL) vs. Jack Martuccio (PSU) 6-0, 3-2 (unfinished)
4. Max Westphal (COL) vs. Ari Cotoulas (PSU) 6-3, 5-0 (unfinished)
5. Henry Ruger (COL) def. Alexander Sterin (PSU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Sachin Palta (COL) vs. Ritvik Nadikude (PSU) 6-0, 5-1 (unfinished)

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,5,2)

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