The Columbia men’s and women’s tennis teams failed to win any matches over their spring break trips, resulting in a combined 0-6 record. Five of the six matches were against ranked teams, and nearly all of the matches were competitive, despite what the final record shows.

The men spent their spring break in Texas and took on #28 Texas Christian, UT Arlington, before finishing off with #56 Southern Methodist. Against Texas Christian, the Lions fought hard in both singles and doubles but ultimately fell to defeat 5-2. The Light Blue saw strong performances from both senior Jared Drucker and freshman Kevin Kung. The two teamed up for Columbia’s lone doubles win and each earned a win in singles, providing the Lions with their only two points in the overall match.

Against UT Arlington, the Lions faced opponents who were their equals on the court, but dealt much better with the windy conditions. Head coach Bid Goswami had hoped to use this trip to help his team acclimate to outdoor conditions since the Light Blue plays primarily indoors, but the weather was a handicap nonetheless.
“It is much easier to go from outdoors to indoors,” said Goswami, “Everything is perfect indoors.”

Columbia failed to adapt to the gusty winds as UT Arlington defeated the Lions 4-3 in a tightly fought contest. The Light Blue began the match decisively by taking the doubles point. However, as the team was playing its second match in two days, the fatigue began to show in the singles matches. The Lions earned wins at number-two singles from sophomore Jon Wong and at number-six singles from Kung.

The Lions finished off their road trip against the Southern Methodist Mustangs, ranked #56 nationally. Although the final score of 6-1 may seem lopsided, the match was much closer than that score indicates. Wong, playing at number-one singles, had a set point in the second set that would have extended the match to three sets. At both number-four and five singles, the Lions played a third-set super-tiebreak instead of a full third set, because the match had already been decided. The team got its lone point from red-hot Kung, who went 3-0 on the trip to boost his overall record to an impressive 8-0 in the spring season.

The women’s team, on the other hand, faced the top competition that Division II tennis offers in Boca Raton Fla. The Lions first faced off against Barry University­—ranked #11 nationally—and while Columbia lost 6-1, it played a full line-up for the first time in nearly a month. The Light Blue’s only win came at number-one singles as junior Nina Suda earned her first win of the season, fittingly in a third-set tiebreak.

The team next traveled to face Lynn University, a team which consistently reaches the top of the Division II rankings. While the Lions were defeated 9-0, Columbia fought valiantly in the top three singles matches. Number-one player Suda continued to play in top form as she took two-time All-American Victoria Weltz to a third set tiebreak. In addition, freshman Stephanie Zilberman and sophomore Carling Donovan lost their matches at number-two and three singles respectively in very close matches.

Columbia finished its trip against Florida Atlantic, where the Lions fell 6-1. Zilberman, a consistent performer for Columbia all season, provided the Light Blue with its sole win at number-two singles, 6-2, 6-1.

The men’s team will begin the defense of its Ivy League title when it travels to Ithaca next weekend to take on Cornell in the Ivy League opener, while the women will open their Ivy League season by hosting Cornell at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center on Saturday.