No. 27 Men’s Tennis downs No. 20 Pepperdine

Friday, February 27

6:30 P.M.

Columbia

Pepperdine

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Alicia Yu

2/27/2026 10:08:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Lions win four of the six singles matches

NEW YORK – The 27th-ranked Columbia men's tennis team earned a signature win in a tightly-contested match over visiting No. 20 Pepperdine, defeating the Waves in a thrilling 5-2 victory on Friday night inside the Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center.

Columbia (6-4) set the tone early, claiming a pair of wins in the doubles play. The duo of Thanaphat Boosarawongse and Abhishek Thorat got the Lions off to a strong start, cruising to a 6-2 victory in the 3-seed doubles.

The No. 53-ranked doubles pair of Andrew Ena and Nicolas Kotzen was locked in a tight battle with the Waves' 75th-ranked doubles pair of Aleksa Pisaric and Lasse Poertner. After a back-and-forth affair, Ena and Kotzen secured a break in the final game of the set, winning the match 6-4, claiming the 1-seed match and the doubles point.

With the Lions leading 1-0 heading to singles play, sixth-ranked Michael Zheng came out of the gate swinging to add a second point quickly. The 1-seed singles match ended in a retirement, with Zheng defeating Edward Winter, 6-3, 3-0, to avenge one of his few losses from last season and put Columbia out front 2-0.

Pepperdine would not go away quietly. The Waves rattled off a pair of singles victories, beginning with David Fix defeating Jordan Chang 6-1, 6-4 in the 6-seed match. No.101 Lasse Poertner then bested No. 66 Sachin Palta in a competitive match in the No. 3 seed, with Palta fighting off four match points before Poertner claimed the match 6-3, 6-3.
No. 36 Nicolas Kotzen regained the lead for Columbia, 3-2, with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Maxi Homberg in the No. 2 seed.

With the outcome hanging in the balance, the 4 and 5-seed singles matches each came down to tense three-setters. After dropping the first set, Thanaphat Boosarawongse battled back to seal the fourth match and the overall victory for Columbia, defeating No. 111 Aleksa Pisaric 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in a come-from-behind win.

Abhishek Thorat sealed the match for the Lions, coming up victorious in a tight contest with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win over Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida in the No. 5 seed, giving the Lions a 5-2 overall victory.

Columbia returns to action on Saturday, March 7, when it hosts Quinnipiac and Fordham for a twin billing. The Lions and Bobcats kick off the doubleheader at 1 p.m. with Fordham to follow.

RESULTS
Singles
1. #6 Michael Zheng (COL) def. Edward Winter (PEP), 6-3, 3-0
2. #36 Nicolas Kotzen (COL) def. Maxi Homberg (PEP), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
3. #101 Lasse Poertner (PEP) def. #66 Sachin Palta (COL), 6-3, 6-3
4. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL) def. #111 Aleksa Pisaric (PEP), 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Abhishek Thorat (COL) def. Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEP), 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
6. David Fix (PEP) def. Jordan Chang (COL), 6-1, 6-4

Doubles
1. #53 Nicolas Kotzen/Andrew Ena (COL) def. #75 Aleksa Pisaric/Lasse Poertner (PEP), 6-4
2. David Fix/Maxi Homberg (PEP) vs. Sachin Palta/Michael Zheng (COL), 5-4
3. Thanaphat Boosarawongse/Abhishek Thorat (COL) def. Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida/Edward Winter (PEP), 6-2

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

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