WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The 9
th-ranked Columbia men's tennis fell in a road contest against No. 13 Wake Forest Friday evening. The Lions move to 3-1 on the season after suffering their first loss of the spring.
Wake Forest took control in doubles and used victories in the No. 1 and 3 spots to secure the doubles point to get the dual started. The Demon Deacon duo of Luca Pow and Luciano Tacchi downed
Alex Kotzen and
Ishaan Ravichander, 6-3 in the No. 3 doubles. The 18
th-ranked duo of DK Suresh Ekambaram and Holden Koons then defeated
Theo Winegar and
Michael Zheng, 6-2 in the top spot to finish off doubles action.
Wake Forest extended its lead heading into singles as No. 54 Ekambaram defeated
Alex Kotzen in the No. 2 singles, 6-4, 6-2. Matthew Thomson then defeated No. 106 Ravichander, 6-1, 6-4 in the No. 4 spot to put the Demon Deacons up, 3-0.
Nicolas Kotzen kept Columbia's hopes alive with a win over Tacchi, 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 3 singles. Pow answered back with a 6-4, 6-1 win against
Hugo Hashimoto in the No. 6 spot to clinch the win for Wake Forest.
The singles matches finished playing out as Koons defeated
Henry Ruger, 6-3, 6-3 in the No. 5 singles. No. 24 Zheng earned an Top 10 win with a 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6) win over No. 7 Filippo Moroni in the top singles match.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. #18 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons (WF) def.
Theo Winegar/
Michael Zheng (CU) 6-2
2. Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni (WF) def. #21
Nicolas Kotzen/
Max Westphal (CU) 5-3
3. Luca Pow/Luciano Tacchi (WF) def.
Alex Kotzen/Ishaan Ravinchander (CU) 6-3
Singles
1. #24
Michael Zheng (CU) def. #7 Filippo Moroni (WF) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6)
2. #54 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WF) def.
Alex Kotzen (CU) 6-4, 6-2
3.
Nicolas Kotzen (CU) def. Luciano Tacchi (WF) 6-4, 6-3
4. Matthew Thomson (WF) def. #106 Ishaan Ravinchander (CU) 6-1, 6-4
5. Holden Koons (WF) def.
Henry Ruger (CU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Luca Pow (WF) def.
Hugo Hashimoto (CU) 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,4,3,6,5,1)
UP NEXT
Columbia caps off the weekend with a match at NC State on Sunday. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
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).
