NEW YORK – The No. 8 Columbia men's tennis team fought past No. 9 Arizona in a nail-biting 4-3 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center to earn a spot in the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
 
As one of the eight teams remaining in the hunt for a national title, Columbia will head to Stillwater, Oklahoma for a quarterfinal match against No. 1 Ohio State on Thursday.
 
"I am so proud of our players," Bidyut K. Goswami Head Coach of Men's Tennis Howard Endelman '87CC said. "They have done everything we have asked for the entire year. I am happy they were able to come through today. It was an honor to compete against Arizona. They were disciplined, competitive and extremely well coached. I am happy for the seniors – they spent their entire first year not on campus while school was virtual during Covid. They just kept hanging in there and kept working and focused on development and improvement. Thanks to all the members of the Columbia Tennis family and all the student-athletes from other sports who supported us today."
 
Columbia clawed its way back from an early deficit to win the doubles point to get the match started. The duo of Nicolas Kotzen and Max Westphal battled to win a late break that allowed them to take a 7-5 win over Herman Hoeyeraal and Eric Padgham in the No. 2 doubles. Arizona answered back with a tiebreaker victory in the top doubles as No. 46 Jay Friend and Colton Smith defeated No. 16 Theo Winegar and Michael Zheng, 7-6(7).
 
All eyes turned to the No. 3 doubles match as Alex Kotzen and Henry Ruger rallied back to force a tiebreaker. Alex Kotzen and Ruger started strong and carried the momentum through the tiebreaker to post a 7-6(3) win against Sasha Rozin and Gustaf Strom to clinch the doubles point for the Lions.
 
Zheng rolled the momentum over into singles to put Columbia ahead, 2-0 early in the match. No. 23 Zheng needed just two sets to take down No. 22 Smith, 6-4, 6-1, in the top singles match.
 
Arizona responded with its first team point of the day as Hoeyeraal got past Westphal in two sets in the No. 4 spot, 7-6(0), 6-3.
 
The Lions answered right back to go ahead, 3-1 as No. 100 Alex Kotzen rallied back after losing the first set to finish off a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 upset victory over No. 35 Friend.
 
The Wildcats then used two singles wins to even the team score, 3-3. Nick Lagaev took a 6-4, 6-4 win over Ruger in the No. 6 position before No. 70 Strom fought back after losing the first set to defeat Nicolas Kotzen, 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the No. 3 spot.
 
With the team score even, all the attention turned to the No. 5 singles match where Hugo Hashimoto faced Casper Christensen. The two went back and forth early in the third set before Hashimoto forced a critical break that allowed him to finish off a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory that sealed the team win and secured a spot in Stillwater for the Lions.
 
RESULTS
#8 Columbia 4, #9 Arizona 3
 
Singles
1. #23 Michael Zheng (COL) def. #22 Colton Smith (ARI) 6-4, 6-1
2. #100 Alex Kotzen (COL) def. #35 Jay Friend (ARI) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. #70 Gustaf Strom (ARI) def. Nicolas Kotzen (COL) 1-6, 6-3, 6-0
4. Herman Hoeyeraal (ARI) def. Max Westphal (COL) 7-6(0), 6-3
5. Hugo Hashimoto (COL) def. Casper Christensen (ARI) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
6. Nick Lagaev (ARI) def. Henry Ruger (COL) 6-4, 6-4
 
Doubles
1. #46 Jay Friend/Colton Smith (ARI) def. #16 Theo Winegar/Michael Zheng (COL) 7-6(7)
2. Nicolas Kotzen/Max Westphal (COL) def. Herman Hoeyeraal/Eric Padgham (ARI) 7-5
3. Alex Kotzen/Henry Ruger (COL) def. Sasha Rozin/Gustaf Strom (ARI) 7-6(3)
 
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,4,2,6,3,5)
 
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