No. 12 Men’s Tennis Rallies Back Against Wolverines

Saturday, February 7

Ann Arbor, Mich.

12:00 P.M.

Columbia

Michigan

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Lem Photography

No. 12 Men’s Tennis Rallies Back Against Wolverines

2/7/2026 3:16:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Results (PDF)

Lions lose the doubles point but win four of the six singles matches

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The 12th-ranked Columbia men's tennis team displayed its depth on Saturday on the road against Michigan. After falling behind 1-0, the Lions rallied back to win the match 4-3, winning four of the six singles matches at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor.

Columbia (3-3) played spoiler at the Wolverines home opener, clinching the match thanks to singles wins on the back end of their lineup. After doubles play, the Lions roared back to a 3-1 lead thanks to wins by Sachin Palta, Abhishek Thorat, and Aditya Govila on courts three, five, and six. All three of those matches came in straight sets.

Michigan (1-4) took the early momentum with a strong showing at doubles play. The Wolverines' duo of Max Dhalin and Pierce Shaya took control of the match with a 6-4 win over Michael Zheng and Nicolas Kotzen. It was the first time Zheng and Kotzen had played a doubles match together this season.

The 25th-ranked duo of Thanaphat Boosarawongse and Govila got the better of Arnav Bhandari and Nicholas Steiglehner, winning 6-4. With the match tied 4-4, Boosarawongse and Govila broke serve to take a 5-4 lead and held on for the win. The duo improves to 6-1 as a pair this year, and 4-0 in the spring.

Michigan clinched the point on court two. Mert Oral and Bjorn Swenson got the better of Palta and Jordan Chang, winning 6-4.

Singles play was where the Lions took over. Palta started the Lions' run with a dominating straight-sets win over Nicholas Steiglehner, winning 6-2, 6-1. On court five, Thorat got the better of Arnav Bhandari in the opening set and ran away with the match in the second, winning 7-5, 6-1. Govila made it 3-1 Lions after defeating Pierce Shaya, 6-3, 6-3 on court six.

UM made it 3-2 when Mert Oral finished off the straight sets win over Boosarawongse on court four, winning 7-5, 6-2.

Kotzen clinched the win for the Lions with a 6-4, 7-5 win over No. 71 Bjorn Swenson. In the opening set, after holding serve to tie the set 4-4, Kotzen broke serve to take control of the set and the match.

With the match settled, the two sides played out the final match with No. 8 Max Dahlin outlasting Zheng 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on court one. It was Zheng's first singles match of the spring.

Columbia returns to action on Friday, February 13, for the opener of the ECAC Indoor Championships hosted by Princeton at the Lenz Tennis Center.

RESULTS
Singles
1. #8 Max Dahlin (UM) def. #3 Michael Zheng (COL), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
2. #25 Nicolas Kotzen (COL) def. #71 Bjorn Swenson (UM), 6-4, 7-5
3. #37 Sachin Palta (COL) def. Max Steiglehner (UM), 6-2, 6-2
4. Mert Oral (UM) def. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL), 7-5, 6-2
5. Abhishek Thorat (COL) def. Arnav Bhandari (UM), 7-6, 6-1
6. Aditya Govila (COL) def. Pierce Shaya (UM), 6-3, 6-3

Doubles
1. Max Dhalin/Pierce Shaya (UM) def. Michael Zheng/Nicolas Kotzen (COL), 6-3
2. Mert Oral/Bjorn Swenson (UM) def. Sachin Palta/Jordan Chang (COL), 6-4
3. #25 Thanaphat Boosarawongse/Aditya Govila (COL) def. Arnav Bhandari/Nicholas Steiglehner (UM), 6-4

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

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