No. 22 Men’s Tennis Begins NCAA Championships on Friday

Friday, May 1

Charlottesville, Va.

Noon

Columbia

St. John's

Photo by: Joshua Wang, New York

No. 22 Men’s Tennis Begins NCAA Championships on Friday

4/29/2026 10:59:00 AM | Men's Tennis

Lions take on St. John’s in opening round

NEW YORK – The 22nd-ranked Columbia men's tennis team begins postseason play on Friday when the Lions face local rival St. John's in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Noon at the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar's Head Resort in the Charlottesville Regional.

Friday marks the 14th consecutive year the Lions have been in the postseason, excluding 2020 and 2021, which were canceled by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Under Bidyut K. Goswami Head Coach of Men's Tennis Howard Endelman, the Lions are 8-4, winning at least one NCAA Tournament match every year.

Last season, Columbia advanced to the program's second-consecutive Elite Eight appearance, defeating NCAA State 4-2 in the Super Regional before falling to eventual National Champion Wake Forest.
The Lions finished the regular season with a 16-7 overall record and went 6-1 in the Ivy League, capturing the program's 19th Ivy League title and third in a row and ninth in the last 11 years. Away from the Milstein Family Tennis Center, the Lions are 6-5. Columbia has tested itself all season; its non-conference schedule featured nine teams that are in the NCAA Tournament field.

With their 19th all-time NCAA Tournament berth, the Lions will take on St. John's. The Big East Tournament Champions finished the regular season 19-6 and are 6-1 at neutral-site locations. On the other side of the bracket, No. 5 Virginia (22-4) will host Rider (12-7). The winners of each match will square off on Saturday.

HOW TO WATCH
Live scoring will be available for every match this weekend and can be accessed on the men's tennis schedule page. There will also be a live stream of the opening-round match against St. John's, which can be accessed here.

Should the Lions advance past the Red Storm, Saturday's match against the winner of Virginia/Rider will also feature live stats and video.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, May 1
Match 1 – Columbia vs. St. John's - Noon
Match 2 – No. 4 Virgina vs. Rider - 3 p.m.

Saturday, May 3
Match 3 – Match 2 Winner vs. Match 1 Winner, 5 p.m.

COLUMBIA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Friday marks the 19th NCAA Tournament appearance for the Lions. Columbia first made the NCAA Tournament in 1984 – led by first-year player Howard Endelman. All-time, the Lions are 18-19 in NCAA play. The Lions' lineup boasts a wealth of experience in NCAA Tournament action. The quartet of Michael Zheng, Nicolas Kotzen, Sachin Palta, and Thanaphat Boosarawongse is 13-9 in singles play and has played in a combined 28 singles matches. Zheng is 8-2.

VERSUS THE FIELD
Columbia has a history with two of the three teams competing at the Charlottesville Regional this weekend. Friday's meeting with St. John's will mark the 31st all-time meeting between the two teams, with Columbia holding a 28-2 advantage in the series. On the other side of the bracket, the Lions have faced Virginia nine times and are 2-7 against the Cavaliers. Earlier this year, then-No. 2 Virginia beat Columbia 6-1 in Charlottesville on January 30. That was Zheng's first action with the team after competing at the Australian Open; he partnered with Palta in doubles but did not compete in singles. Columbia has never faced Rider

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).