NEW YORK – The No. 8 seed Columbia men's tennis team had to grind out a gutsy win over visiting No. 23 Clemson, defeating the Tigers 4-2 in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday at the Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center.
With the win, the Lions advance to Saturday's third round where they will host the winner of N.C. State and Georgia.
Columbia (19-4) set the tone early, claiming a pair of wins in the doubles play. The No. 41 ranked doubles pair of
Michael Zheng and
Nicolas Kotzen defeated the Tigers' top doubles pair of Noah Vukadin and Max Smith 6-2.
Hugo Hashimoto and
Jayden Templeman secured the doubles point in exciting fashion with a 7-6 (7-5) win over Viktor Markov and Matt Pitts in the three seed.
With the Lions leading 1-0 heading to singles play, Zheng quickly added a second point. The Lions' No. 1 singles player defeated #56 Vukadin in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4 to put Columbia out front 2-0.
The rest of the singles matches would be decided in three sets.
Max Westphal made the competition 3-0 in favor of Columbia with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 come-from-behind win over Romain Gales. Clemson would battle back, winning the next two singles matches to make the competition 3-2 overall. Viktor Markov defeated #52 Kotzen 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 in the No. 2 seed, while Max Smith got past
Sachin Palta 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the fifth-seeded match.
Hashimoto clinched the match in walk off fashion for the Lions with a 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 win over Marko Mesarovic in the No. 4 seed, giving the Lions a 4-2 overall victory.
Thanaphat Boosarawongse was also in a tight match at a score of 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 4-5 when the contest went final.
RESULTS
#8 Columbia 4 vs. #23 Clemson 2
Singles
1. #2
Michael Zheng (COL) def. #56 Noah Vukadin (CLEM) 6-4, 6-4
2. Viktor Markov (CLEM) def. #52
Nicolas Kotzen (COL) 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
3.
Max Westphal (COL) def. Romain Gales (CLEM) 5-7, 6-3, 6-1
4. #81
Hugo Hashimoto (COL) def. Marko Mesarovic (CLEM) 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5
5. Max Smith (CLEM) def.
Sachin Palta (COL) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
6.
Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL) vs. Edoardo Cherie Ligniere (CLEM) 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 4-5 unfinished
Doubles
1. #41
Michael Zheng/Nicholas Kotzen (COL) def. #28 Noah Vukadin/Max Smith (CLEM) 6-2
2. #86
Max Westphal/
Sachin Palta (COL) vs. #42 Romain Gales/Max Damm (CLEM) 6-6 (3-3) unfinished
3.
Hugo Hashimoto/
Jayden Templeman (COL) def. Viktor Markov/Matt Pitts (CLEM) 7-6 (7-5)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1, 3, 2, 5, 4)
UP NEXT
Columbia's third round match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first serve at the Milstein Family Tennis Center on Saturday.
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).
