The Columbia men’s tennis team performed well on its home court at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center this past weekend at the annual Columbia Classic. Mihai Nichifor, a junior transfer from Manhattan College, won the “A” flight of singles, defeating Ivy opponents along the way without dropping a set.

Nichifor opened with a win over Alex Vuckovic from Princeton, 6-2, 6-1 and then defeated Jon Fife from Cornell in straight sets as well. In the semifinals, Nichifor ran into teammate Ekin Sezgen. Nichifor used his experience to defeat the freshman for the Lions in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. In the final, Nichifor continued his hot play to defeat Jon Jaklitsch from Cornell, 6-4, 6-2. Nichifor entered the draw as the number one seed.

Haig Schneiderman was also entered in the “A” singles draw, and lost in quarterfinals to Adam Schwartz from Penn in three tight sets. In fact, Schneiderman held a match point against the veteran from Penn. Nonetheless, Schneiderman proved he is capable of competing with Ivy foes at a high level.

In the “A” doubles draw, the Columbia duo of Nichifor and Schneiderman made it all the way to the finals before falling to Cornell's Kyle Doppelt and Josh Goldstein. The Cornell team won 8-4, and also defeated another Columbia team consisting of Sezgen and Rajeev Deb-Sen in the quarterfinals.

Sho Matsumoto, a sophomore for the Lions, was entered in the “C” singles draw, but lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion in a tight match.

Michael Bohnen, advanced all the way to the finals of the backdraw of the “B” singles draw before falling in a tight match to Princeton’s Parker Preyer by the score of 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.

The Lions will next be in action at the ITA Regional Championships hosted by Yale University. The tournament is scheduled to run from October 16 to 21.