No. 25 Men’s Tennis Hosts Quinnipiac and Fordham

Saturday, March 7

1:00 PM

Columbia

Quinnipiac

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics

No. 25 Men’s Tennis Hosts Quinnipiac and Fordham

3/6/2026 11:49:00 AM | Men's Tennis

Lions’ busy week begins with Saturday doubleheader

NEW YORK - The 25th-ranked Columbia men's tennis team begins a busy stretch, playing three matches in four days when it hosts Quinnipiac and Fordham on Saturday at the Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center.

Saturday's match against the Bobcats is scheduled for 1 p.m., while the match against the Rams is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.

LIVE COVERAGE
Action from the Milstein Family Tennis Center this week will be broadcast live through Columbia's stretch portal. Fans can also follow live scores online for both matches this weekend.

LIONS IN THE ITA RANKINGS
In the latest ITA rankings, the Lions moved up two spots to No. 25 after defeating No. 20 Pepperdine. The Lions also have three singles players ranked, led by Michael Zheng, who is No. 7. Nicolas Kotzen moves up to No. 30, followed by Sachin Palta, who moves up to No. 56. In doubles, the duo of Thanphat Boosarawongse and Aditya Govila is No. 45, while the duo of Kotzen and Andrew Ena is No. 51.

LAST TIME OUT
Columbia got a big win, defeating No. 20 Pepperdine 5-2 at the Milstein Family Tennis Center last Friday. The Lions jumped out to an early lead after securing the doubles point. Leading 1-0, the Lions took an early 2-0 lead when Zheng got the win thanks to an injury. Pepperdine tied the match 2-2 with wins on court six and three, but Columbia put it away thanks to a strong showing from Kotzen on court no. 2 and Boosarawongse on court No. 4.

HEATING UP
Senior Nicolas Kotzen is on a hot streak for the Lions. Sitting at 19-7 overall and 7-2 in the spring, Kotzen is on a four-match winning streak after defeating Pepperdine's Maxi Homberg 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

ZHENG HERE THERE AND EVERYWHERE
Senior Michael Zheng has had a very busy week. The back-to-back NCAA singles champion was in Southern California for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. An ATP 1000 event, Zheng, who is currently ranked No. 145, received a main draw wild card and faced No. 62 Vit Kopriva of Czechia, falling in straight sets 6(1)-7, 5-7.

SCOUTING QUINNIPIAC
The Bobcats enter Saturday's match on a hot streak, winning three straight. Overall, Quinnipiac is 3-4 in 2026, and is 1-2 on the road. Carlos Braun Simo has been playing primarily in the No. 1 spot for the Bobcats. He is 13-18 on the year, but 6-2 in the MAC. At the No. 4 spot, Elias Hoxha leads Quinnipiac with 19 wins and is 12-10 in the spring.

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS THE BOBCATS
Saturday will be the second-ever meeting between the Lions and Bobcats. The first-ever meeting between these two programs took place in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2024, with the Lions coming out on top 4-0.

QUINNIPIAC NOTABLES
Roster | Stats | Schedule

SCOUTING THE RAMS
Fordham enters this weekend with a 4-6 overall record, but is coming off a 4-3 win over Rider. On the road, Fordham is 1-6. The Rams' top singles spot has been occupied by sophomore Mateusz Gradski of late. He is 6-8 on the year, but 5-4 in the spring.

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS FORDHAM
Saturday will be the 38th meeting all-time between the local rivals. In a series that dates back to 1915, Columbia owns a 32-5 advantage in the series that has been on hiatus since the 2013 season. Last time these two teams faced, Columbia defeated the Rams 6-1 on February 2, 2013.

FORDHAM NOTABLES
Roster | Stats | Schedule

FOLLOWING THE LIONS
Stay up to date on all things Columbia Men's Tennis by following the Lions on X (@CULionsMTEN), Instagram (@culionsmten) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).