No. 22 Men’s Tennis Claims Share of Ivy League Title

Saturday, April 25

Ithaca, N.Y.

1:00 PM

Columbia

Cornell

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.

No. 22 Men’s Tennis Claims Share of Ivy League Title

4/25/2026 6:17:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Results (PDF)

Lions fall to Cornell finish tied for first in Ivy League standings

ITHACA, N.Y. – The 22nd-ranked Columbia men's tennis team could finish off the perfect Ivy League run and had to settle for a co-championship with host Cornell, falling 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at The Rees Tennis Center.

The loss to the Big Red is the first Ivy League loss since Cornell defeated the Lions on March 30, 2024, ending a run of 19 consecutive Ivy League wins for the Lions. With the share of the Ivy League Crown, Columbia has won three consecutive Ivy League titles and 19 overall - second most by any program in Ivy League history.

Seniors Nicolas Kotzen, Sachin Palta, and Michael Zheng finish their Columbia careers with three Ivy League crowns and a 25-3 mark in Ivy League play.

In today's dual, Cornell claimed the early advantage with wins on courts two and three to secure the doubles point. Cornell's tandem of Petar Teodorovic and Felipe Pinzon defeated Thanaphat Boosarawongse and Abhishek Thorat 6-4.

The Big Red clinched the point on Court No. 2 when Kumar Rethin and Rushil Khosla defeated Sachin Palta and Andrew Ena, 6-4. On court one, Zheng and Kotzen were tied 6-6 when the match went unfinished.

In singles, Columbia evened the match with straight-set victories from Thorat on court No. 5. He took down Pinzon 6-3, 6-1.

The Big Red retook the lead 2-1, when Rethin finished off Boosarawongse, 6-4, 6-2 in court No. 4.

Kotzen tied the match, 2-2, with a 7-6(7), 6-3 win over Teodorovic on court No. 2. The two teams traded points with Cornell securing a win on court three. The Lions evened it up when Aditya Govila notched a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Ama Sharma on court No. 6.

On court one, 62nd-ranked Fernandez clinched the match and the Ivy League's automatic berth to the upcoming NCAA Championship, with a 7-6(4), 6(5)-7, 6-3 win over Zheng.

Columbia almost assuredly will get an at-large bid. They will find out on Monday evening when and where they will be playing. The NCAA Selection Show will be streamed live on NCAA.com at 5 p.m.

RESULTS
Singles
1. #62 Rodrigo Fernandez (COR) def. #5 Michael Zheng (COL), 7-6(4), 6(5)-7, 6-3
2. #44 Nicolas Kotzen (COL) def. Petar Teodorovic (COR), 7-6(7), 6-3
3. Eric Verdez (COR) def. #96 Sachin Palta (COL), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Kumar Rethin (COR) def. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL), 6-4, 6-2
5. Abhishek Thorat (COL) def. Felipe Pinzon (COR), 6-3, 6-1
6. Aditya Govila (COL) def. Aman Sharma (COR), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

Doubles
1. Michael Zheng/Nicolas Kotzen (COL) vs. Eric Verdez/Rodrigo Fernandez (COR) , 6-6 unfinished
2. Rethin Kumar/Rushil Khosla (COR) def. Sachin Palta/Andrew Ena (COL), 6-4
3. Petar Teodorovic/Felipe Pinzon (COR) def. Thanaphat Boosarawongse/Abhishek Thorat (COL), 6-4

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

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