STILLWATER, Okla. – No. 23 Michael Zheng battled to the end, but fell to Alabama's No. 29 Filip Planinsek in three sets on Saturday afternoon at Oklahoma State's Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center to finish as the NCAA Singles runner-up.
 
Zheng fought hard through the first set and prevailed in the tiebreaker, 7-6(7-4) to take an early lead. Planinsek responded by taking the second set, 6-3, to force a third set to decide a singles champion. The two traded games early before Planinsek secured a break to hold an advantage. Holding a 5-2 lead, Planinsek broke Zheng for a second time to clinch the match.
 
Zheng finishes his sophomore season with the best performance in the NCAA Singles bracket in program history. He is the first singles player from the Columbia tennis program to play in the national championship. Zheng is also just the third person in program history to earn ITA All-American status in two consecutive seasons.
 
As a program, Columbia wraps up its best season in program history after advancing to the Elite Eight and finishing ranked No. 8 in the final ITA Rankings. Zheng's run through the bracket to the singles championship match added another incredible highlight to the story of the 2024 Columbia men's tennis team.
 
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).