No. 13 Men’s Tennis Defeats No. 25 Illinois in a Thriller

Friday, January 23

3:00 P.M.

Columbia University

Illinois

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.

No. 13 Men’s Tennis Defeats No. 25 Illinois in a Thriller

1/23/2026 8:32:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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Aditya Govila clinches the win for the Lions on court six

NEW YORK – The 13th-ranked Columbia men's tennis team earned its first signature win of the season on Friday night at the Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center. The Lions secured a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 25 Illinois in the first round of the ITA Kickoff Classic.

With Michael Zheng in attendance, Columbia (2-1) set the tone early with strong doubles play.

Thanaphat Boosarawongse and Aditya Govila later made a decisive impact in singles, but dominated Illinois' Will Mroz and Zach Vialla 6-2 on court three. Up 3-0, the Lions' pair fought back from love-30 to hold serve, building a 4-0 lead.

Sachin Palta and Jordan Chang clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 win over Sasha Colleau and Gabriel Debru, prevailing in a 9-7 tiebreak.

With the Lions out front 1-0 after doubles play, Illinois (0-2) retook the lead with wins at No. 5 and No. 4.

Nicolas Kotzen evened the match at 2-2 with a massive win at court one, defeating No. 10 Kenta Miyoshi in straight sets, 7-6(7-5), 6-4.

Gabriel Debru once again put the Illini out front with a three-set victory over Palta on court two, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Boosarawongse tied the match 3-3 with a determined comeback on court three. After dropping the opening set to No. 87 Adam Jilly, Boosarawongse overpowered him to win 6-7(0-7), 6-1, 6-3.

With the match tied 3-3, Govila clinched the win with a 7-6(7-5), 3-6, 6-2 triumph over Hayden Jones on court six. In the opening set, Govila trailed 4-1 before rallying for the victory.

With the win, Columbia will face Florida in the championship round of the ITA Kickoff Classic. The winner advances to the ITA Indoor Championships, held Feb. 13-15. Saturday's match against the Gators is scheduled for a 3 p.m. first serve.

Singles
1. #52 Nicolas Kotzen (COL) def. #10 Kenta Miyoshi (ILL), 7-6(7-5), 6-4
2. Gabriel Debru (ILL) def. #65 Sachin Palta (COL), 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
3. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL) vs. #87 Adam Jilly (ILL), 6-7(0-7),6-1, 6-3
4. Will Mroz (ILL) def. Abhishek Thorat (COL) 6-3, 6-2
5. Sasha Colleu (ILL) def. Jung Hee You (COL) 6-2, 6-4
6. Aditya Govila (COL) def. Hayden Jones (ILL), 7-6(7-5), 3-6, 6-2

Doubles
1. Kenta Miyoshi/Adam Jilly (ILL) def. Nicolas Kotzen/Andrew Ena (COL) 7-6(7-5)
2. Sachin Palta/Jordan Chang (COL) def. Sasha Colleu/Gabriel Debru (ILL), 7-6(9-7)
3. #37 Thanaphat Boosarawongse/Aditya Govila (COL) def. Will Mroz/Zach Viiala (ILL), 6-2

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,4,1,2,3,6)

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