Tennis teams pick up wins in away matches

The men’s and women’s tennis teams each went 1-2 over their spring break training trips to Texas and California, respectively. The men fell against Texas Christian University and Southern Methodist University, but managed to defeat UT Arlington on their final stop of the trip. The women lost their first match to Loyola Marymount, but rallied with a win against Cal State Fullerton before falling to Cal State Northridge.

The men began their trip by taking on the 38th-ranked team in the nation, TCU. The Lions got off to a slow start in the doubles matches, losing all three to go down 1-0. Columbia was unable to do much damage in singles, either. The top three singles matches, featuring nationally ranked players from TCU, went to three sets for Columbia, but the Lions fell at each position. Bogdan Borta at No. 1 singles won the first set but lost the next two, while Jon Wong at No. 2 singles lost the first and came back to win the second only to lose in the third set, 6-4. At No. 3 singles, Mihai Nichifor had an up-and-down match, losing the first and third sets, 6-0 and 6-1, while winning the second 6-3. Ekin Sezgen at No. 4 singles lost in a third set tiebreak, giving the Lions a final 7-0 defeat.

Next up for the Lions was SMU, which despite being unranked was a tough opponent on outdoor courts. The Lions lost 6-1 with freshmen Haig Schneiderman winning the Lions only point at No. 5 singles in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. The Lions also lost the doubles point despite Wong and Schneiderman winning their doubles match, 8-6, at No. 2 doubles.

The Lions’ only dual-meet win of the trip—against UT Arlington, 5-2—started strong, with Columbia winning the doubles point for the first time on the trip. Wins from Wong at No. 2 singles and freshman Rajeev Deb-Sen at No. 6 singles helped secure the Light Blue win, advancing the team’s record to 10-4 on the season.

Meanwhile, in California, the women found themselves in a dogfight in their first match against Loyola Marymount, ending in a 5-2 defeat. The Lions lost the doubles point by dropping all three of the doubles matches but fared better in singles, picking up wins from both freshmen in the lineup, Nicole Stanziola and Eliza Matache. Stanziola at No. 2 singles and Matache at No. 3 singles each won in a tiebreak, 10-3 and 10-4, respectively. Natasha Makarova, playing at No. 1 singles, lost in two tight sets, 6-4, 6-4, and Nina Suda, playing at No. 5 singles, fought valiantly only to lose 6-3, 7-5.

The Lions had an easier time against Cal State Fullerton, taking every set of the singles matches as well as the doubles point en route to a 7-0 win. Senior Marlena Hall at No. 5 singles dominated her opponent, 6-0, 6-0, while the rest of the lineup also won comfortably.

The Light Blue did not fare as well against Cal State Northridge, falling 5-2. The Lions got another win from Matache and a victory in the singles lineup from Suda at No. 6 singles. The doubles point was lost in a sweep, however, as Columbia managed to win just four games in all three matches. The loss dropped the Lions to 4-7 on the year.

The men and women will begin Ivy play this Friday. The women will travel to Cornell, who currently sits at 5-8. The men will stay in Manhattan and host the Big Red at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center, where the Lions are 5-0 this season.