Michael Zheng Repeats as ITA All-American
5/26/2026 11:47:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Senior takes home the honor for an unprecedented fourth time
NEW YORK – Columbia men's tennis senior Michael Zheng has been named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American for the 2025-26 college tennis season, as announced by the ITA on Tuesday.
Zheng becomes the first tennis player from the Ivy League to earn the honor four times, surpassing Yale's Donald Dell (1958, '59, '60), Princeton's Jay Lapidus (1978, '79, '80) and Harvard's Howard Sands (1981, '82, '83) as the only three-time honorees.
The Montville, N.J. native, cemented his legacy as one of the greatest collegiate men's tennis players of all-time in the fall when he defeated SMU's Trevor Svajda, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, to win his second consecutive national championship.
With the win, Zheng became the first men's tennis player to win back-to-back titles since USC's Steve Johnson did it in 2011 and 2012. Zheng becomes just the ninth player in NCAA history to win back-to-back titles, and the 10th to earn multiple NCAA Championships.
Zheng's victory over Svajda also gives him 19 career NCAA individual tournament wins, the most in NCAA history. He surpassed Virginia's Somdev Devvarman, who finished with 18 career victories in 2008.
The three-time Ivy League Player of the Year first made history by winning the NCAA Individual Tennis Championship in 2024, becoming the first Lion to win a singles championship since Robert LeRoy won the title in 1904 and 1906. Zheng was the first men's singles champion from an Ivy League school since Lucien Williams of Yale won the title in 1922.
The four-time First Team All-Ivy League honoree in both singles and doubles, finished his senior year with a 23-7 record in singles play and a 9-6 mark in doubles. He led Columbia to its 19th conference title - and third in a row and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
For his career, he went 125-31 in singles matches and 65-38 in doubles matches. He led Columbia to an 80-21 record overall, including a 25-3 record in conference play.
The criteria for ITA All-America singles honors include winning the ITA All-American Championship, advancing to the round of 16 at the NCAA Individual Championships, or finishing in the top 20 of the final ITA Singles Rankings. All-America recognition is awarded to doubles teams who win the ITA All-American Championship, reach the NCAA Championship quarterfinals, or finish in the top 10 in the final ITA National Doubles Rankings.
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Zheng becomes the first tennis player from the Ivy League to earn the honor four times, surpassing Yale's Donald Dell (1958, '59, '60), Princeton's Jay Lapidus (1978, '79, '80) and Harvard's Howard Sands (1981, '82, '83) as the only three-time honorees.
The Montville, N.J. native, cemented his legacy as one of the greatest collegiate men's tennis players of all-time in the fall when he defeated SMU's Trevor Svajda, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, to win his second consecutive national championship.
With the win, Zheng became the first men's tennis player to win back-to-back titles since USC's Steve Johnson did it in 2011 and 2012. Zheng becomes just the ninth player in NCAA history to win back-to-back titles, and the 10th to earn multiple NCAA Championships.
Zheng's victory over Svajda also gives him 19 career NCAA individual tournament wins, the most in NCAA history. He surpassed Virginia's Somdev Devvarman, who finished with 18 career victories in 2008.
The three-time Ivy League Player of the Year first made history by winning the NCAA Individual Tennis Championship in 2024, becoming the first Lion to win a singles championship since Robert LeRoy won the title in 1904 and 1906. Zheng was the first men's singles champion from an Ivy League school since Lucien Williams of Yale won the title in 1922.
The four-time First Team All-Ivy League honoree in both singles and doubles, finished his senior year with a 23-7 record in singles play and a 9-6 mark in doubles. He led Columbia to its 19th conference title - and third in a row and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
For his career, he went 125-31 in singles matches and 65-38 in doubles matches. He led Columbia to an 80-21 record overall, including a 25-3 record in conference play.
The criteria for ITA All-America singles honors include winning the ITA All-American Championship, advancing to the round of 16 at the NCAA Individual Championships, or finishing in the top 20 of the final ITA Singles Rankings. All-America recognition is awarded to doubles teams who win the ITA All-American Championship, reach the NCAA Championship quarterfinals, or finish in the top 10 in the final ITA National Doubles Rankings.
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).
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
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