The men’s tennis team dominated Boston College in its spring season opener, defeating the Eagles by a score of 5-2. The match saw one of the biggest upsets of the season in the doubles point, as the Columbia doubles team of Jon Wong and Mihai Nichifor easily defeated the No. 27 doubles team in the country, the duo of Thomas Nolan and Erik Kreutzer. Wong and Nichifor took out the Eagles duo 8-3, in a match that was a rout from the very beginning. In addition, two freshmen notched their first dual match singles victories of their careers, as Cyril Bucher won at No. 4 singles, and Nathaniel Gery won at No. 6 singles.
The Lions got off to a fast start to the match, paced by the doubles victory by Nichifor and Wong. In addition to that upset, the Lions swept the doubles point, as sophomore Haig Schneiderman and Gery won at No. 2 doubles by a score of 8-3. Their opponents, Akash Muppidi and Jonathan Schroeder came into the match ranked as the No. 4 doubles team in the region, based on their victories during the fall. At No. 3 doubles, freshman Rajeev Deb‑Sen and junior Kevin Kung teamed up for Columbia to win the tightest doubles match of the day, as they took out their opponents by a final score of 8-6, in a match that featured terrific serving and returning.
The Lions got off to a fast start in the singles as well, using their depth to simply overpower the Eagles at the bottom of the lineup. Columbia won at No. 3, 4, 5, and 6 singles, all of the matches in straight sets. Schneiderman paced the Lions in singles, winning his match at No. 3 singles 6-2, 6-2 using a powerful serve to keep his opponent off guard. Bucher used an all‑court game, and displayed his volleying skills at net, and defeated his opponent at No. 4 singles by the final score of 6-1, 6-3. Deb‑Sen, who played mostly at No. 6 singles last season, moved up to play No. 5 and won his match easily in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4. At No. 6 singles was the Lions top recruit Gery. Gery entered Columbia as a highly touted player out of Canada with an international ranking of No. 190 as a junior. Gery played consistently all afternoon, downing his Boston College opponent by a score of 6-1, 6-2.
The top two singles matches provided the most intrigue of the afternoon. Wong, a senior co‑captain, played at No. 1 singles and took on Thomas Nolan. Wong entered as the No. 2 ranked singles player in the northeast, and Nolan entered as the No. 13 ranked player. Both players went toe‑to‑toe from the baseline in the first set, as Nolan capitalized on Wong’s unforced errors to take the first set 6-3. Wong’s powerful forehand began to find the mark in the second, as he stormed back to win it 6-4, but Nolan steadied himself and won the match in a third set tiebreak. Nichifor, who is ranked No. 7 in the northeast, found himself in a contentious match at No. 2. Nichifor lost the first set to Muppidi, but steadied himself as he found the range on his forehand and serve in the second set, winning it 6-3. However, Muppidi outplayed Nichifor in the third and final set, and won the match 6-3 in the third set.
The Lions will next be in action when they travel to Mississippi for the prestigious ITA Team Indoors Kick-Off Weekend tournament, which is scheduled to run from January 30th to the 31st.