CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The eighth-ranked Columbia men's tennis team competed at the Fighting Illini Invite this weekend to kick off the 2025 spring season.
Columbia competed in singles and doubles matches along with hidden duals against Illinois and Boise State across three days of action at Illinois' Atkins Tennis Center.
Nicolas Kotzen,
Michael Zheng,
Hugo Hashimoto,
Jayden Templeman,
Max Westphal,
Sachin Palta,
Jordan Chang,
Andrew Kotzen and
Thanaphat Boosarawongse all saw action this weekend.
The 2024 fall NCAA singles champion,
Michael Zheng saw his first collegiate action this weekend since claiming the national title in November. Zheng posted a solid 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over No. 14 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) on Saturday. He also defeated Boise State's Julius Seifert in two sets on the first day of action. Zheng posted two doubles victories playing alongside
Nicolas Kotzen and one win playing with
Andrew Kotzen.
No. 42
Nicolas Kotzen earned a 6-1, 7-6(7) win over No. 111 Jett Middleton (Boise State) on Saturday. 33
rd-ranked Hashimoto secured two singles victories this weekend. The 75
th-ranked duo of Hashimoto and Templeman posted five doubles wins spread across three days.
Full day-by-day results from the Fighting Illini Invite are listed below.
DAY 1 RESULTS
Doubles
- Kenta Miyoshi/Mathis Debru (Illinois) def. Nicolas Kotzen/Michael Zheng (Columbia), 7-6(3)
- #75 Hugo Hashimoto/Jayden Templeman (Columbia) def. Lukas Velik/Jett Middleton (Boise State), 6-4
- Max Westphal/Sachin Palta (Columbia) def. Tyler Bowers/Zach Viiala (Illinois), 6-4
- Jordan Chang/Andrew Kotzen (Columbia) def. Carson Baker/John Chin (Boise State), 7-6(4)
- Idriss Haddouch/Taiyo Kurata (Boise State) def. Max Mroz (Illinois)/Thanaphat Boosarawongse (Columbia), 7-6(5)
- Kenta Miyoshi/Mathis Debru (Illinois) def. Max Westphal/Sachin Palta (Columbia), 6-4
- Nicolas Kotzen/Michael Zheng (Columbia) def. Lukas Velik/Jett Middleton (Boise State), 6-2
- Jordan Chang/Andrew Kotzen (Columbia) def. Max Mroz (Illinois)/James Van Herzeele (Boise State), 6-0
- #75 Hugo Hashimoto/Jayden Templeman (Columbia) def. Idriss Haddouch/Taiyo Kurata (Boise State), 6-4
- #75 Hugo Hashimoto/Jayden Templeman (Columbia) def. Tyler Bowers/Zach Viiala (Illinois), 6-4
- Nicolas Kotzen/Michael Zheng (Columbia) def. Kenta Miyoshi/Max Mroz (Illinois), 7-6(2)
- Jordan Chang/Thanaphat Boosarawongse (Columbia) def. Dylan Jaen/Lucas Velik (Boise State), 6-1
- Max Westphal/Sachin Palta (Columbia) def. Taiyo Kurata/Julius Seifert (Boise State), 6-1
Singles
- #1 Michael Zheng (Columbia) def. Julius Seifert (Boise State), 7-5, 6-3
- Sachin Palta (Columbia) def. James Van Herzeele (Boise State), 6-2, 6-3
- Thanaphat Boosarawongse (Columbia) def. Idriss Haddouch (Boise State), 6-2, 6-1
- Jayden Templeman (Columbia) def. Lukas Velik (Boise State), 6-2, 6-1
- Andrew Kotzen (Columbia) def. John Chin (Boise State), 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(4)
- Jordan Chang (Columbia) def. Dylan Jaen (Boise State), 6-3, 6-4
- #14 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. #42 Nicolas Kotzen (Columbia), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
- Max Westphal (Columbia) def. Tyler Bowers (Illinois), 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
- #33 Hugo Hashimoto (Columbia) def. Jeremy Zhang (Illinois), 6-3, 7-6(4)
DAY 2 RESULTS
Doubles
Singles
- #1 Michael Zheng (Columbia) def. #14 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois), 6-4, 7-6(4)
- #42 Nicolas Kotzen (Columbia) def. #111 Jett Middleton (Boise State), 6-1, 7-6(7)
- Max Westphal (Columbia) def. Jeremy Zhang (Illinois), 4-6, 7-5, 6-0
- Sachin Palta (Columbia) def. Idriss Haddouch (Boise State), 6-2, 6-1
- Thanaphat Boosarawongse (Columbia) def. Tyler Bowers (Illinois), 6-4, 7-6(3)
- Jayden Templeman (Columbia) def. James Van Herzeele (Boise State), 6-1, 6-1
- Lukas Velik (Boise State) def. Andrew Kotzen (Columbia), 6-3, 7-5
- Jordan Chang (Columbia) def. Taiyo Kurata (Boise State), 6-2, 6-0
- Jordan Chang (Columbia) def. John Chin (Boise State), 6-4, 6-7(3), 1-0 (10-5)
DAY 3 RESULTS
Doubles
Singles
- #33 Hugo Hashimoto (Columbia) def. Carson Baker (Boise State), 6-0, 6-1
- Sachin Palta (Columbia) def. Julius Seifert (Boise State), 6-3, 6-2
- Jayden Templeman (Columbia) def. John Chin (Boise State), 7-6(2), 6-3
- Jordan Chang (Columbia) def. Idriss Haddouch (Boise State), 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
- #30 William Mroz (Illinois) def. Sachin Palta (Columbia), 7-5, 7-6(5)
- Andrew Kotzen (Columbia) def. Dylan Jaen (Boise State), 6-0, 6-4
UP NEXT
Columbia hosts Miami at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 25 inside the Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center as part of ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Lions will then play either Florida or Middle Tennessee State on Sunday. Two wins would send the Lions to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
FOLLOWING THE LIONS
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