No. 8 Columbia Men’s Tennis Begins “May Madness” Friday

Friday, May 2

New York, N.Y.

1:00 PM

Columbia University

Binghamton

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Lem Photography

No. 8 Columbia Men’s Tennis Begins “May Madness” Friday

5/1/2025 12:07:00 PM | Men's Tennis

First and Second Round Fan Info NCAA Bracket NCAA Tournament Central

Lions host Binghamton in First Round of NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship

NEW YORK – The No. 8 seed Columbia men's tennis team begins postseason play on Friday when the Lions host Binghamton in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship at 1 p.m. at the Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center.

It is the second consecutive season the Lions have earned the No. 8 seed – tied for highest ranking ever by a team from the Ivy League. Columbia will host its sixth regional in the past 10 years and will have an excellent chance to host a super regional for the second time in program history with two wins this weekend.

The Lions finished the regular season with a 17-4 overall record and were a perfect 7-0 in Ivy League play – a run that saw Columbia surrender just one point en route to six sweeps over conference foes. In doing so, the Lions captured their 18th Ivy League title in program history and 13th outright title. It was Columbia's second crown under coach Howard Endelman '87CC but eighth during his tenure with the program overall.

The Lions will face Binghamton (13-11, 4-3 NEC) in the first round Friday afternoon. The Bearcats claimed their second-consecutive NEC championship defeating LIU, 4-2, on Saturday, April 19. This is the 11^th time in program history that Binghamton has made the NCAA tournament, last year they fell to No. 2 seed Michigan 4-0 at the Milstein Family Tennis Center.

Prior to Columbia's match against the Bearcats, Clemson will take on Quinnipiac at 10 a.m. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 23 in the latest ITA rankings and finished the regular season with an overall record of 21-7 (8-5 ACC). Quinnipiac enters this weekend riding an 11-match winning streak. They finished the year 12-11 overall – including an 8-0 mark in the MAAC.

LIVE COVERAGE
Action from the Milstein Family Tennis Center this weekend will be broadcast live through Columbia's stretch portal. Fans can also follow the action live via live scores online.

Cracked Rackets will also be providing wraparound coverage of the first and second round matches. Fans can access that broadcast here.

2024 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament First & Second Rounds – Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center

Friday, May 2
Match 1 – Clemson vs. Quinnipiac, 10 a.m.
Match 2 – Columbia vs. Binghamton, 1 p.m.

Saturday, May 3
Match 3 – Match 2 Winner vs. Match 1 Winner, 1 p.m.

COLUMBIA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Friday marks the 18th NCAA Tournament appearance for the Lions. Columbia first made the NCAA Tournament in 1984 – led by first-year player Howard Endelman. All-time, the Lions are 14-17 in NCAA play. Last year, Columbia advanced to the programs first ever quarterfinal appearance after defeating Arizona 4-3 in the super regional. As one of the last eight teams standing, their postseason run ended when No. 1 Ohio State defeated the Lions 4-2 in Stillwater, Ok.

LIONS IN THE ITA RANKINGS
In the latest ITA rankings, the Lions hold strong at the No. 9 spot. Columbia has been in the top-10 every week this season. Reaching a high of No. 6 on Feb. 5.

Singles
#2 – Michael Zheng
#52 – Nicolas Kotzen
#81 – Hugo Hashimoto
Doubles
#37 – Michael Zheng, Hugo Hashimoto
#41 – Michael Zheng, Nicolas Kotzen
#86 – Sachin Palta/Max Westphal

VERSES THE FIELD
Columbia has history with all three teams coming to the Milstein Family Tennis Center this weekend. Friday's matchup against the Bearcats will be the 12th ever meeting between the two squads, with Columbia owning an 11-0 advantage in the series. Last time these two teams faced was on March 4, 2017 with the Lions winning 7-0 at home.

The Lions are 1-0 against Quinnipiac, defeating the Bobcats 4-0 in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament on May 3, 2024. Against Clemson, the Lions are 0-2. The first time Columbia and Clemson dueled was on April 2, 1970 with the Tigers defeating the Lions 8-1. Last time these teams faced was on Feb. 14, 2004, with the Tigers coming out on top 7-0.

LAST TIME OUT
The Lions quickly took care of business, sweeping host Dartmouth 4-0, on Sunday, April 20 at the Boss Tennis Center. With the win, Columbia captured the outright Ivy League Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tennis Championships.

The 4-0 win over the Big Green was the Lions' 13th win over a team ranked in the ITA rankings.

Columbia captured the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 courts. Hugo Hashimoto and Jayden Templeman got the first win of the afternoon, defeating the Big Green's duo Denny Bao and Alex Knox Jones 6-2. Michael Zheng and Nicolas Kotzen took down Dartmouth's duo of Yujiro Onuma and Walled Qadir 6-2 to clinch the doubles point.

In singles play the Lions top three players clinched the match. Senior Max Westphal defeated Dartmouth's Hikaru Takeda 6-4, 6-2. Kotzen defeated Henry Ren 7-5, 6-2 just before Zheng could clinch the match with a 7-6, 6-1 win over Guerrero Alvarez.

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).