No. 26 Men’s Tennis Falls to No. 5 Virginia

Saturday, May 2

Charlottesville, Va.

5:00 PM

Columbia

Virginia

5/2/2026 9:37:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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Columbia’s run in the NCAA Tournament ends in the second round

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The 26th-ranked Columbia men's tennis team took an early lead against fifth-ranked Virginia; unfortunately, the Cavaliers rallied late to take the match 4-2 in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament at the Virginia Tennis Center at the Boar's Head Resort.

Facing Virginia (24-4) for the second time this season, Columbia (17-8) attempted to pull off what no one else has done this year: defeat the Cavaliers on their home court. The Lions started off strong, capturing the doubles point thanks to strong play on courts No. 2 and No. 3.

Columbia's duo of Sachin Palta and Andrew Ena swung the momentum in the Lions' favor with a dominating 6-0 win over UVA's Andres Santamarta Roig and Jangjun Kim.

The Cavaliers' 12th-ranked duo of Mans Dahlberg and Dylan Dietrich evened things up with a 6-2 win over Michael Zheng and Nicolas Kotzen on court No. 1.

The Lions' tandem of Thanaphat Boosarawongse and Abhishek Thorat clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win over Stiles Brocket and Keegan Rice.

Singles play saw Columbia double its lead thanks to a straight-sets win by Thorat on court No. 5. The first-year player finished his sensational first season with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Brockett.

UVA rallied back with four consecutive wins to capture the match. On court No. 2, Kotzen fell to Rice, 7-5, 6-3. On court three, Palta took the first set against Roig, but fell 6-4, 4-6, 2-6. On court four, Kim also rallied back after losing the opening set to defeat Boosarawongse 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The Cavaliers clinched the match when the top-ranked Dietrich outlasted Zheng, 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-4.

Saturday's match was the final in the careers of three sensational student-athletes. Michael Zheng, Nicolas Kotzen, and Sachin Palta have led the Lions to three Ivy League Titles, back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in 2024 and 2025.

Zheng will be remembered as one of the greatest collegiate tennis players in NCAA history. The back-to-back NCAA Single Champion won over 100 career matches and is a four-time All-American and three-time Ivy League Player of the Year.

Kotzen finished his career with back-to-back First Team All-Ivy honors in both singles and doubles play. Palta also took home All-Ivy honors for the second time in his career.

RESULTS
Singles
1. #1 Dylan Dietrich (UVA) def. #5 Michael Zheng (COL), 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-4
2. #21 Keegan Rice (UVA) def. #44 Nicolas Kotzen (COL), 7-5, 6-3
3. #58 Andres Santamarta Roig (UVA) def. #101 Sachin Palta (COL), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. #114 Jangjun Kim (UVA) def. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Abhishek Thorat (COL) def. Stiles Brockett (UVA), 6-2, 6-4
6. Aditya Govila (COL) vs. Mans Dahlberg (UVA), 6-7(7), 6-4, 0-2, unfinished

Doubles
1. Mans Dahlberg/Dylan Dietrich (UVA) def. Michael Zheng/Nicolas Kotzen (COL), 6-2
2. Sachin Palta/Andrew Ena (COL) def. Andres Santamarta Roig/Jangjun Kim (UVA), 6-0
3. Thanaphat Boosarawongse/Abhishek Thorat (COL) vs. Stiles Brockett/Keegan Rice (UVA), 6-4

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

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