Tennis to try and defend Ivy League championship

Almost every day since its loss in the NCAA tournament last spring, the men’s tennis team has been training with one goal in mind; to defend its Ivy League title from last season, and have the chance to once again represent the Ancient Eight in the NCAA tournament this spring. The Albie Collins Trophy, the award annually given to the Ivy League championship team, currently sits in the lobby of Dodge, and the Lions have no intention of letting it leave. Columbia enters this weekend tied for first place in the Ivy League with a conference record of 4-1, but the team is not in control of its own destiny. Yale beat the Lions last weekend 4-3, and will earn the lone automatic bid from the Ivy League into the NCAA Tournament if it wins all three of its remaining matches. Columbia, which had its eleven match winning streak snapped last weekend, will face Penn on the road on Friday, and Princeton at home on Sunday. The Light Blue’s match on Sunday will be the last home match in the illustrious careers of senior co-captains Jon Wong and Mihai Nichifor.

“If I actually think of Princeton too much, I’ll have a bigger problem with Penn,” Columbia head coach Goswami said. “We don’t know whether it will be inside or outside, so we played two days outside, and today inside because we didn’t have an outside court”

The Lions enter this weekend ranked No. 46 in the country, dropping only one spot in the rankings after their upset at the hands of the Bulldogs. Columbia is still the highest ranked Ivy League team, although three other conference foes reside in the top 75 rankings. Harvard is ranked No. 64, Yale No. 67 and Cornell No. 70.

Columbia will travel to play Penn on Friday in a match that is scheduled to be played outdoors but could be moved indoors if there is a chance of rain. The Lions struggled to adjust to the gusty conditions outdoors last weekend against Yale after not having played a competitive match outdoors since their spring break trip to Texas.

Penn has struggled in Ivy play this season, going 1-4 in conference play and 11-8 overall. The Quakers had a tough time on the road last weekend, getting blanked by Harvard 7-0 and falling to Dartmouth in a 5-2 decision. One big loss for Penn this season has been the absence of former No. 1 singles player Hicham Laalej, who has missed the entire season due to injury. Last spring, Laalej beat Columbia’s Jon Wong at No. 1 singles, and was named first team all-Ivy in singles. Replacing him at the top of the lineup is Eugen Brazdil, a sophomore who transferred this fall from UCLA, where he played singles and doubles on a team which reached the NCAA semifinals. Brazdil has gone 1-4 at No. 1 singles in Ivy play this spring, with his lone win coming against Brown. Brazdil faced Wong in the fall at the USTA National Collegiate Invitational finals, where Wong won a tight match 7-5 in the third set tie-break, hitting two big forehand winners for the victory. Last season, Columbia beat Penn 5-2 at home, winning the important doubles point, and all of the singles matches except at No. 1 and No. 4 singles.

“Some of those matches are pretty close,” Goswami said. “And Brazdil at No. 1 is a good player. For a couple of the guys, it’s their last match at home, so they’ll be psyched up. We’re focusing on Penn. We’ve been working again on doubles, and I know at home it will be a bit easier against Princeton. I’m hoping once we have the win with us against Penn, I’ll focus earnestly on Princeton.”

Last season, Columbia traveled to Princeton and beat them 7-0 to win the 2009 Ivy League championship outright. This spring, the Lions will host Princeton in a match that could be equally important to their success.

While the Light Blue will be battling the Tigers, its fate may rest in the hands of the Bulldogs, who will be playing the Crimson at the same time. If Harvard were to beat Yale on Sunday, a win against Princeton coupled with a win against Penn would seal the title for Columbia. Princeton has improved drastically this season, despite the loss of its top singles player from last season—Peter Capkovic. Princeton sits at 4-1 in the Ivy League and is tied with Columbia atop the standings. Last spring, the Tigers finished in sixth place, with a conference record of 3-4. Princeton has earned wins over Yale, Brown and Dartmouth this spring, with the only loss coming against Harvard on the road. The win over Yale is one of the Tigers’ most impressive this season as they won the doubles point and then split the singles, winning the No. 4, 5, and 6 singles in straight sets. Princeton has actually beaten Yale twice this season, including once at the ECAC Championships in the first round. Other than the win against Yale in the ECAC’s, Princeton is winless against ranked teams this season, going 1-7 against them.

“They are a really good team as their record shows,” Goswami said. “They beat Yale at Princeton. Their No. 2 guy actually won the ‘A’ flight at our own Columbia Classic, even though Jon and Mihai didn’t play, and their No. 4 guy won the ‘B’ flight, so those guys are pretty good on our courts. We need to play good doubles, they’ve been winning a lot of doubles points.

Leading the Tigers at No. 1 singles is Charlie Brosens, who has gone 2-3 in conference play. At No. 2 has been freshman Matija Pecotic, who lost to Jon Wong in the semifinals of the USTA National Collegiate Invitational in the fall. One of the strengths for the Tigers this spring has been No. 3 doubles, who have gone 5-0 in Ivy play. At No. 3 doubles for Columbia is the duo of junior Kevin Kung and sophomore Rajeev Deb-Sen, who have gone 2-2 in conference play.

The Tigers have improved drastically this season since last spring, something Goswami attributes to a great group of freshman.

“They are good at No. 1, 2 and 4 and all of those guys are all freshman,” Goswami said. “They’ve made a big difference.”

The Lions’ match on Sunday will be the final home match for seniors Jon Wong and Mihai Nichifor. Wong has won two Ivy titles as a freshman and junior and has been named first team all-Ivy in singles and was the first Lion ever to be named Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Nichifor came to Columbia last fall as a transfer from Manhattan College and has gone 12-0 in Ivy League singles matches, at No. 3 and 2 singles.

“I think Jon and Mihai really raised the bar up,” Goswami said. “Jon definitely, he played as a freshman when he won the ’07 title. He has been an unbelievable domination on the court. A few injuries have hurt him a little bit. I feel badly sometimes— if we had more preparation on outdoor courts, I think he could have beaten Powers [No. 1 player and freshman from Yale]. I would have loved to see him play where we play all the time, but it wasn’t to be.

“And Mihai, what can you ask from him,” Goswami said. “He’s like a professional, you should see his routine at practice. I always tell the young guys to follow Mihai, he is absolutely ready and everyday he practices like he’s playing the final set against a good Ivy player. And I think that’s the key, to practice like you play in matches. He’s big and strong, but more than anything else, he’s so prepared. I’m grateful that he came to us, because he helped make us one of the best programs in the Ivy League, regardless of whether we win this year or not.”

Goswami had a simple wish for his two departing stars: “I hope they go out in style in doubles and singles,” Goswami said. “And if they do their jobs, I think we’ll win the title.”

Columbia will travel to Penn on Friday to play at 2 p.m., and will host Princeton on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center.