No. 27 Men’s Tennis Hosts Harvard and Dartmouth in Finale Homestand for 2026

Saturday, April 18

1:00 PM

Columbia

Harvard

No. 27 Men’s Tennis Hosts Harvard and Dartmouth in Finale Homestand for 2026

4/17/2026 10:16:00 AM | Men's Tennis

Lions pay tribute to their seniors on Sunday

NEW YORK – The 27th-ranked Columbia men's tennis team wraps up its 2026 home slate this weekend when the Lions host No. 41 Harvard on Saturday and No. 73 Dartmouth on Sunday. Both matches will be played indoors at the Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center and are scheduled for a 1 p.m. first serve.

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

LIONS HOST NYJTL
This Saturday, the Columbia men's team will host a group from New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL). The mission of the NYJTL is to develop the character of young people through tennis and education for a lifetime of success. Bidyut K. Goswami Head Coach of Men's Tennis Howard Endelman serves on the board of the NYJTL, and he is excited to host them for a pre-match pizza party and post-match meet & greet.

LIONS IN THE ITA RANKINGS
In the latest ITA men's tennis rankings, the Lions continue to climb in the rankings, up seven spots to No. 27. Columbia is one of seven Ivy League schools ranked in the top-75. Following the Lions is Cornell (No. 31), Yale (No. 37), Princeton (No. 38), Penn (No. 40), Harvard (No. 41), and Dartmouth (No. 73). In the singles rankings, Michael Zheng moves up to No. 5, Nicolas Kotzen jumps up to No. 37, and Sachin Palta remains in the top-100 at No. 90.

LAST TIME OUT
Columbia wrapped up a split road and home weekend with a pair of convincing wins over top-40 teams. The Lions opened the week, defeating No. 39 Penn on the road before sweeping No. 37 Princeton at home. With the two wins, the Lions improved to 4-0 in Ivy League play.

CLINCHING SCENARIOS
Taking a look at the Ivy League standings entering this weekend will show that the top four teams all play each other this weekend. At 4-0, the Lions sit atop the Ivy League table, followed by Cornell (3-1), Dartmouth (3-1) and Harvard (3-1). The Lions can clinch the outright Ivy title and the league's automatic bid on Sunday with wins over Harvard and Dartmouth, and if Harvard beats Cornell on Sunday. The Lions clinch at least a share of the Ivy title with wins over Harvard and Dartmouth, and if Cornell beats Dartmouth on Saturday and Harvard on Sunday.

SENIOR SENDOFF
Four legendary Lions will be playing their final regular-season home match on Sunday. Columbia will honor Michael Zheng, Nicolas Kotzen, Sachin Palta and Stanly Shukhman in a post-match ceremony. Zheng, Kotzen and Palta will go down as one of the winningest classes in program history. The trio has combined to go 77-19 in their career and are 23-2 in Ivy League play, having captured two Ivy League titles (2024, '25) and back-to-back appearances in the Elite Eight. Shukhman, who entered the program with the other three, serves as the team manager and has been an indispensable part of the program, helping the coaching staff in a variety of tasks.

SCOUTING HARVARD
Harvard enters this weekend ranked No. 41 in the latest ITA poll. This year, they are 13-10 overall and 3-1 in Ivy League play. On the road, they are 1-5. The Crimson have two players ranked in the ITA Singles Rankings, Rohan Murali checks in at No. 52, followed by Nathan Blokhim at No. 99.

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS THE CRIMSON
Saturday will be the 97th meeting between the Lions and Crimson. All-time, Harvard owns a 70-26 advantage in the series that dates back to 1904. Recent history has been good to the Lions; however, after Harvard won 33 of the first 34 meetings, Columbia has gone 25-37 against the Crimson. Last time out, the Lions defeated No. 20 Harvard 4-1 in Cambridge on April 19, 2025.

ABOUT HARVARD
Roster | Stats | Schedule

SCOUTING DARTMOUTH
Dartmouth enters this weekend 15-8 overall and is 3-1 in the Ivy League. They begin the weekend taking on Cornell in Ithaca on Saturday. As a team, they are 1-4 on the road.

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS THE BIG GREEN
Sunday will be the 96th meeting between the Lions and Big Green. All-time, Columbia owns a 61-34 advantage in the series that dates back to 1911. Under Endleman, the Lions have never lost to the Big Green and are 8-0 dating back to 2019. Last time out, Columbia defeated the then 73rd-ranked Big Green 4-0 in Hanover, N.H. on Sunday, April 20, 2025.

ABOUT DARTMOUTH
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).