The foundation for the Lions’ biggest win of the season was laid back in February, when the Lions were defeated by Harvard in the finals of the ECAC after holding five championship points.
“I had given the boys the day off after the ECAC,” said head coach Bid Goswami, “but 12 of the 14 guys went out to practice anyway, without any coaches. They worked on their own, and they went running too. I knew that boded well for us.”
It was this determination that led to the Lions’ win over defending Ivy champion Harvard. The Lions beat Harvard, 4-3, avenging the heartbreaking loss earlier this spring, during which Harvard beat Columbia 4-3. After beating Harvard, the Lions continued to persevere, traveling up to Dartmouth, and sweeping the Big Green 7-0. The weekend sweep put Columbia (13-4, 3-0 Ivy) in sole possession of first place in the Ivy League.
The match against Harvard did not start off well for Columbia, however, as they lost the doubles point against the Crimson, who came out firing.
“I think we were so geared up since the loss to Harvard at the ECAC,” said Goswami, “that sometimes you want it so bad that you get too anxious. In the doubles, I could sense we were a little anxious, and when that happens we can’t play as well.”
At No. 1 doubles, junior Mihai Nichifor and senior Bogdan Borta lost to Chris Clayton and Alexei Chijoff-Evans, 8-3. Junior Jon Wong and freshman Haig Schneiderman lost 8-4 at No. 2 doubles to Sasha Ermakov and Aba Omodele-Lucien, and Harvard’s team of Michael Hayes and Alistair Felton beat Dan Urban and Rajeev Deb-Sen, 8-2.
The Lions regrouped quickly in the singles competition, not allowing the doubles defeat to linger.
“They played with a lot of grit and determination,” said Goswami, “in an away match with lots of people and bells and whistles, and they were getting ready. I could tell good things would follow, I thought it would go down to the wire and it did.”
At No. 1 singles, Borta went up against Clayton, ranked No. 77 nationally, who had beaten him earlier in the year in the regional final, which went three sets. In that match, Borta had chances in each set, including a 5-1 lead in the first set, and a 5-2 lead in the second. Against Harvard on Friday, Borta lost his first set to Clayton, 6-4. Borta, however, saved three match points and knotted it up at 5-5. Borta went on to win the second set, and to take a 3-0 lead in the third.
Meanwhile on the court next to him, Nichifor won his first set, 6-2 against Ermakov, but lost the second. Nichifor, the Lions’ most consistent player all season at No. 3 singles, stormed ahead in the third set, winning 6-1, and evening the match at 1-1.
At No. 4, Schneiderman won his first set against Alistair Felton, 6-3, but lost the second set by the same score. Schneiderman regrouped and raced out to a 4-1 lead in the third set, but was broken by Felton. Schneiderman broke right back, and at 5-3, served out his match to give Columbia a 2-1 lead.
Of all of the Lions, freshman Ekin Sezgen was perhaps the most pleased with the outcome. Sezgen had five championship points in the Lions’ first encounter with Harvard, and lost all of them in a gut-wrenching defeat. On Friday, Sezgen lost the first set to Hayes, 6-3, but stormed back to win the second. In the third set, Sezgen got a break, and was up 5-4, 30-0, and was two points away from the win, when Hayes rallied back to break Sezgen and force the match to go on. The two battled to a third-set tiebreak. Sezgen had two match points, each of which were fought off by Hayes, but finally, at 8-7, Sezgen ripped a backhand passing shot which Hayes could not return to give him sweet revenge and Columbia the 3-1 advantage.
At No. 6 singles, fellow freshman Deb-Sen was up against Omodele-Lucien, who has never lost a dual match against Columbia and has been a constant frustration for the Light Blue. Deb-Sen won the first set and got into a second-set tiebreak against Omodele-Lucien. Deb-Sen avoided the drama and scorched his opponent by blanking him 7-0 in the tiebreak to seal the win for Columbia.
At No. 2 singles Wong won his first set, lost the second, and was on serve late in the third, but lost the match in a third set tiebreak, 7-1. Borta, meanwhile, was battling cramps in the third set, and saw Clayton
win the last six games to take the third set 6-3.
The Lions then traveled up to Dartmouth to take on the Big Green in Hanover. The Lions continued their tremendous play, winning every match except No. 1 doubles.
“We went to Dartmouth,” said Goswami, “and I hoped for no let down, and there wasn’t. It was a routine match and everyone did their job.”
The Lions won the doubles point, picking up victories in the No. 2 and 3 doubles matches. Wong and Schneiderman won at No. 2 easily, 8-3, while Urban and Deb-Sen won a tight match at 8-6.
Nichifor was once again a winner at No. 3 singles, winning 6-3, 6-2. Sezgen was the next victorious Lion, wining 6-4, 6-3. Deb-Sen, at No. 6, won his match in three sets, rebounding after dropping the first to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. Schneiderman won in a third set super-tiebreak that was played because the outcome of the match was already decided. In what was the most enthralling match of the afternoon, Wong won his match in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 against Daniel Freeman of Dartmouth.
The Lions will return to the court on Friday and Saturday when they host Brown and Yale, respectively.