NEW YORK – The Columbia women's tennis team opens the fall season at home, hosting the Columbia Invitational beginning Friday and lasting until Sunday at the Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center. 

The Lions will host Stony Brook, Wagner and Cornell at the Milstein Family Tennis Center this weekend and compete in a hidden dual tournament format. Teams will play one set of doubles with no advantage. The singles matches will be best of three. 

The hidden dual format resembles dual play during the spring season, but no team scores are counted during the fall. All doubles and singles results are credited individually. The Columbia Invitational is the first event of the fall for the Lions as players are working toward earning a spot in the NCAA singles and doubles championships.

The Lions bring back a loaded roster, led by junior Gayathri Krishnan, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year. Krishnan was recently ranked No. 108 in the ITA Preseason Poll. Sophomore Malak El Allami is also back for the Lions, the ITA Northeast Region Rookie of the Year for the 2024-25 season is looking to build on her stellar first-year campaign.

Also back are experienced players Emily Baek, Salma Farhat, Sophia Wang, and Amber Yin. Newcomers Margaret Hui, Michelle Li, and Sabrina Lin are all expected to make significant contributions this year.

TOURNAMENT INFO & SCHEDULE
All matches will be played outdoors unless there is inclement weather, and are open to the public. There will not be any video this weekend, but there will be live stats, which can be accessed here.

Friday 9/12:
11:00 am Columbia vs Stony Brook 
6:00 pm Cornell vs Wagner

Saturday 9/13:
9:00 am Stony Brook vs. Wagner
1:00 pm Columbia vs. Cornell

Sunday 9/14:
9:00 am Cornell vs Stony Brook
1:00 pm Columbia vs. Wagner

OPPONENT INFO
Rosters, Schedules, and Stats for all the opposing teams can be found below.

Cornell: Roster, Schedule, Stats
Stony Brook: Roster, Schedule, Stats
Wagner: Roster, Schedule, Stats

FALL SCHEDULE
The Columbia Invitational is the first of 11 fall tournaments the Lions will be competing in as they prepare for the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships in mid-November. 

The fall slate features two home events, the Columbia Invitational (Sept. 12-14) and the Columbia Quad (Sept. 27-28). The Lions will play in three ITA-sponsored events beginning with the ITA All-Americans Sept. 20-25 in Cary, N.C. Columbia will also participate in four ITA events, the Ivy League Qualifier Tournament (Oct. 24-27) in Cambridge, Mass., and the Harvard Quad (Oct. 31-Nov. 2). 

"We're really excited about our fall schedule—it's a great mix of collegiate and professional opportunities for our team," head coach Ilene Weintraub '02CC said. "With the new structure providing four distinct pathways to the NCAA individual singles and doubles championships, there's real meaning and motivation behind every match. The fall now has a clear purpose and competitive direction. We've also added three ITF women's professional events, giving our players the chance to compete against some of the best in the world and continue developing at the highest level."  

For the full fall schedule, click here. 

FOLLOW THE LIONS:
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