NEW YORK – The No. 8 Columbia men's tennis team defeated Quinnipiac, 4-0, Friday afternoon at the Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Columbia will face No. 26 Michigan in the second round, which is set for a 1 p.m. first serve Saturday at the Milstein Family Tennis Center. Michigan has won four of the six all-time meetings between the teams. The Lions and Wolverines last met in 2022.
The Lions opened Friday's match by winning the doubles point to take the early lead.
Nicolas Kotzen and
Max Westphal cruised to a 6-2 win over Carlos Braun Simo and Finn Burridge in the No. 2 spot.
Alex Kotzen and
Henry Ruger pulled away down the stretch to post a 7-5 win against Ayato Arakaki and Donovan Brown in the No. 3 doubles to clinch the doubles point.
Nicolas Kotzen earned the first singles victory of the afternoon for the Lions with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Shaurya Sood in the No. 3 doubles.
Hugo Hashimoto extended Columbia's lead with a 6-1, 6-3 win against Burridge in the No. 5 spot. Hashimoto continues his undefeated streak playing the No. 5 singles and is now 16-0 this spring.
No. 100
Alex Kotzen finished off Columbia's 4-0 win by taking a 6-3, 6-2 win over Arakaki in the No. 2 singles.
Alex Kotzen improves to 12-4 overall playing the No. 2 spot this season.
RESULTS
#8 Columbia 4, Quinnipiac 0
Singles
1. #23
Michael Zheng (COL) vs. Daniel Velek (QUIN) 6-2, 5-1 (unfinished)
2. #100
Alex Kotzen (COL) def. Ayato Arakaki (QUIN) 6-3, 6-2
3.
Nicolas Kotzen (COL) def. Shaurya Sood (QUIN) 6-1, 6-2
4.
Max Westphal (COL) vs. Carlos Braun Simo (QUIN) 6-2, 4-4 (unfinished)
5.
Hugo Hashimoto (COL) def. Finn Burridge (QUIN) 6-1, 6-3
6.
Henry Ruger (COL) vs. Donovan Brown (QUIN) 6-4, 4-0 (unfinished)
Doubles
1. #16
Theo Winegar/
Michael Zheng (COL) vs. Daniel Velek/Shaurya Sood (QUIN) 6-5 (unfinished)
2.
Nicolas Kotzen/
Max Westphal (COL) def. Carlos Braun Simo/Finn Burridge (QUIN) 6-2
3.
Alex Kotzen/
Henry Ruger (COL) def. Ayato Arakaki/Donovan Brown (QUIN) 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (3,5,2)
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).
