No. 28 Lions Fall to No. 15 Arizona on the Road

Tuesday, March 17

Tucson, Ariz.

5:00 P.M.

Columbia

Arizona

3/17/2026 8:29:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Michael Zheng takes down No. 3 Jay Friend at the No. 1 singles spot

TUCSON, Ariz. – Despite a standout performance from Michael Zheng, No. 28 Columbia men's tennis fell 6-1 to No. 15 Arizona on Tuesday afternoon at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.

Zheng, ranked No. 8 in the latest ITA singles rankings, delivered the Lions' lone point with a marquee victory over No. 3 Jay Friend at the top singles spot. The Columbia senior battled through a tight, high-level match, winning 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 10-5 in a decisive third-set tiebreak.

Arizona (14-1) controlled the match immediately, capturing the doubles point with wins on No. 1 and No. 3, while the No. 2 match featuring Zheng and Sachin Palta went unfinished.

In singles, the Wildcats won the remaining five matches in straight or three sets. Nicolas Kotzen fell 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2, while Sachin Palta dropped a 6-3, 6-3 decision at No. 3. Thanaphat Boosarawongse pushed his match to a third-set tiebreak before coming up short, and losses at Nos. 5 and 6 sealed the team result.

Columbia's winning streak is halted at four games. The Lions fall to 9-5 on the season. They return to action on Saturday when they take on No. 18 San Diego in San Diego. That match is scheduled for a 3 p.m. first serve.

Results
Singles
1. #8 Michael Zheng (COL) def. #3 Jay Friend (UofA), 6-4, 6(3)-7, 1-0(10-5)
2. #74 Filip Gustafsson (UofA) def. #31 Nicolas Kotzen (COL), 6-4, 6-4
3. #87 Alexander Rozin (UofA) def. #64 Sachin Palta (COL), 6-3, 6-3
4. #122 Zoran Ludoski (UofA) def. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL), 6(1)-7, 6-2, 1-0(12)
5. Alejandro Arcila (UofA) def. Aditya Govila (COL), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
6. Glib Sekachov (UofA) def. Jung Hee You (COL), 6-1, 6-4

Doubles
1. #16 Filip Gustafsson/Glib Sekachov (UofA) def. #54 Nicolas Kotzen/Andrew Ena (COL), 6-3
2. Michael Zheng/Sachin Palta (COL) vs. Jay Friend/Alexander Rozin (UofA), 4-5 unfinished
3. Alejandro Arcila/Cole Stelse (UofA) def. Thanaphat Boosarawongse/Abhishek Thorat (COL), 6-1

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

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