The Columbia men’s tennis team left New York City for the ITA Regional Championships at Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y., today. The Lions, coming off some recent successes at the Columbia Classic, will face a tough challenge up north against many top-notched players.

“This is an individual tournament with one huge draw. So the best player might be from a small school,” Light Blue head coach Bid Goswami said. “And there are many good players from a lot of different schools. The best players from the entire Northeast play in this tournament.”

The team did not perform as it had hoped to in the 2010 ITA tournament, as it failed to send a player beyond the second round. This year, the team, with a sense of camaraderie already established, takes an outlook on the tournament that goes beyond this weekend.

“The team’s chemistry has been great and they are all working hard,” Goswami said. “The freshmen are wonderful people and great players, and it bodes well for Columbia in the long run.”
With senior Haig Schneiderman and freshman Winston Lin seeded 11th and 16th, respectively, the Lions have packed their bags for Ithaca, where they will face some of the nation’s strongest and fittest foes.

The tournament will go all day from Thursday, Oct. 13 to Tuesday, Oct. 18. The winners of the ITA tournament will proceed directly to the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in November.