No. 7 Men’s Tennis Returns Home to Host Marist, Wagner Saturday

Saturday, March 23

New York, N.Y.

1:00 PM

Columbia University

Marist

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

No. 7 Men’s Tennis Returns Home to Host Marist, Wagner Saturday

3/22/2024 10:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

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The Lions face one last tune-up before Ivy League play begins

By: Garret Sulak

NEW YORK – The seventh-ranked Columbia men's tennis team returns home for the first time in over a month to host Marist and Wagner in a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at the Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center.

The Lions look to continue their dominance up and down the lineup. Max Westphal remains undefeated in singles this spring with a 9-0 mark playing in the No. 4 and 5 spots. Michael Zheng has earned nine wins and is 9-3 in duals at the top singles. Nicolas Kotzen is 9-2 playing in the No. 3 and 4 singles, while Alex Kotzen is 8-1 in singles this spring primarily playing the No. 2 position. Hugo Hashimoto leads the team in singles victories this spring with 10. Hashimoto has been a key asset in the No. 5 and 6 spot for the Lions.

In doubles, the top duo of Theo Winegar and Zheng is 9-1 this spring. Nicolas Kotzen and Westphal are 8-4, primarily playing the No. 2 doubles. Alex Kotzen and Henry Ruger have paired up recently and are 3-1 playing in the No. 3 spot.

LOOKING BACK
Columbia is 12-2 overall this season and has won its last six matches entering Saturday. The Lions return home for the first time since hosting the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in February. Since then, Columbia has gone on the road and knocked off No. 49 Northwestern, No. 31 UCLA, No. 40 Pepperdine and UC Irvine.

THE OPPONENTS
Marist enters Saturday's contest with a 4-9 overall mark this season. The Red Foxes lost a 4-0 match to Army in their last time out. Wagner is 1-12 overall after falling to Binghamton and Fordham last weekend.

THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Columbia is holding steady at No. 7 in the latest ITA rankings. The Lions have three players ranked in singles – No. 17 Michael Zheng, No. 75 Alex Kotzen and No. 112 Nicolas Kotzen. On the doubles side, two Columbia duos are ranked. Theo Winegar and Zheng are No. 16, while Nicolas Kotzen and Max Westphal are No. 32.

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).