NEW YORK — Columbia men's tennis completed play at the 2024 ITA Indoor National Team Championships with a 4-0 sweep of Duke Sunday night at the Philip & Cheryl Milstein Tennis Center. The highlight of the victory was a 6-2 upset win in No. 1 doubles from Theo Winger and
Michael Zheng over the 11th-ranked pair of Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang.
All three doubles pairings jumped out to big leads and took care of the Blue Devils in short order to pick up the first point.
Alex Kotzen and
Sachin Palta were the first group to finish, claiming a 6-3 win at No. 3. Moments later, Winger and Zheng pulled off their upset at No. 1 to send the Lions' (8-2) fans in attendance into a frenzy.
Columbia used another strong start across the lineup in singles to keep the momentum in its favor. No. 15
Michael Zheng started a flurry of action with a 6-1, 6-2 win over No. 47 Pedro Rodenas in the No. 1 slot. The Lions clinched nearly simultaneously in No. 6 and No. 5 action when
Henry Ruger closed out Alexander Visser, 6-3, 6-1, followed by
Hugo Hashimoto's 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Jake Krug.
The Lions return to action on Friday, March 1, for a matchup against Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois. First serve is set for 8 p.m. ET.
RESULTS
#10 Columbia 4, #15 Duke 0 (ITA Rankings)
Singles
1. #15
Michael Zheng (COL) def. #47 Pedro Rodenas (DUKE), 6-1, 6-2
2. #101
Alex Kotzen (COL) vs. Garrett Johns (DUKE), 6-4, 4-2, unfinished
3.
Nicolas Kotzen (COL) vs. Andrew Zhang (DUKE), 6-2, 3-4, unfinished
4.
Max Westphal vs. Connor Krug (DUKE), 7-6, 5-1, unfinished
5.
Hugo Hashimoto (COL) vs. Jake Krug (DUKE), 6-3, 6-4
6.
Henry Ruger (COL) def. Alexander Visser (DUKE), 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
1.
Theo Winegar/
Michael Zheng (COL) def. #11 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DUKE), 6-2
2. #24
Max Westphal/
Nicolas Kotzen (COL) vs. Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DUKE), 5-2, unfinished
3.
Alex Kotzen/
Sachin Palta (COL) def. Connor Krug/Faris Khan (DUKE), 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1); Singles (1, 6, 5)
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