EVANSTON, Ill. – The fourth-ranked Columbia men's tennis team earned a 4-0 win over No. 49 Northwestern Friday night in the Combe Tennis Center.
 
The win marks Columbia third consecutive 4-0 win after defeating No. 21 Alabama and No. 15 Duke to close out the ITA National Team Indoor Championships
 
Columbia took control early with two dominant doubles victories. The duo of Alex Kotzen and Henry Ruger kicked things off by taking a 6-1 win over Chad Miller and Nick Herdoiza in the No. 3 doubles. The 18^th-ranked pair of Nicolas Kotzen and Max Westphal clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win against Felix Nordby and Presley Thieneman in the No. 2 spot.
 
No. 10 Michael Zheng and Theo Winegar worked together to build a 5-3 advantage over Gleb Blekher and Greyson Casey in the top doubles. The match was abandoned when the Lions clinched the doubles point.
 
The Lions continued the strong performance into singles action as No. 16 Zheng, Hugo Hashimoto and Westphal picked up wins to close out the Columbia win.
 
Zheng worked quick to earn the first singles win for the Lions. He defeated Northwestern's Thieneman, 6-2, 6-2 in the top singles match to put Columbia up, 2-0.
 
Hashimoto followed with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Casey in the No. 5 position. Westphal then closed out the 4-0 Columbia victory with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win against Nordby in the No. 4 singles.
 
The Lions have a short break before heading to California for spring break. Columbia will kick off the trip with a match at No. 29 UCLA on Monday, March 11. First serve against the Bruins is slated for 5 p.m. ET.
 
RESULTS
#4 Columbia 4, #49 Northwestern 0
 
Singles
1. #16 Michael Zheng def. Presley Thieneman 6-2, 6-2
2. Gleb Blekher vs. #60 Alex Kotzen 6-4, 3-5, unfinished
3. Saiprakash Goli vs. #119 Nicolas Kotzen 6-7 (4-7), 2-2, unfinished
4. Max Westphal def. Felix Nordby 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Hugo Hashimoto def. Greyson Casey 6-4, 6-2
6. Chad Miller vs. Henry Ruger 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
 
Doubles
1. Gleb Blekher/Greyson Casey vs. #10 Michael Zheng/Theo Winegar 3-5, unfinished
2. #18 Nicolas Kotzen/Max Westphal def. Felix Nordby/Presley Thieneman 6-2
3. Alex Kotzen/Henry Ruger def. Chad Miller/Nick Herdoiza 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,5,4)
 
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