The Columbia men’s and women’s tennis teams went a combined 1-3 in a pivotal weekend in Ivy League play. The men defeated Dartmouth 7-0 on Friday and then dropped a heartbreaker to Harvard 4-3 to lower their record to 7-5 (2-1 Ivy). The women were defeated 6-1 by 51st-ranked Dartmouth, and, like the men, lost a tight match to Harvard, 4-3.
The men’s matchup against Dartmouth had the Big Green highly favored going into the match, as Dartmouth entered at 6-6, and figured to be in contention for an Ivy title this season. The Lions, however, refused to be intimidated and quickly jumped on the Big Green 1-0 by winning the doubles point.
The pivotal match in singles play came at number-one singles, where Columbia senior Mark Clemente took on Dartmouth senior Mark Brodie. Brodie came into the match having won his last two matches against tough California schools and was nationally ranked higher than Clemente. Clemente won the first set 6-4 and rallied to win the second in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-5). A normally reserved Clemente punctuated the match as he leapt into the air to celebrate a great shot on a crucial point. The entire match seemed to turn from there as Jon Wong and Bogdan Borta won in straight sets at number-two and number-three singles to clinch the match for the Lions.
The highlight of the weekend, however, was the Lions’ showdown against the 45th-ranked Harvard squad. The Crimson handed the Lions their only Ivy League loss last season on Columbia’s way to an Ivy League title. The Dick Savitt Tennis Center was rowdy and boisterous from the beginning of the match as many Columbia alumni and former players showed up to support their team. The match started off tensely as the Lions’ new doubles teams narrowly won the doubles point by edging out Harvard’s third doubles team 9-8 in a tiebreaker. The first-doubles team of Kevin Kung and Clemente lost, while second-doubles players Wong and Borta won their match.
Columbia needed Jared Drucker and Justin Chow to pull through in order to win the crucial doubles point. In a brilliant doubles match filled with ups and downs, the Lions duo narrowly won. With the Light Blue up 1-0, the singles play got underway with Columbia sporting a new lineup. At number-one singles was Wong, who defeated his opponent Chris Clayton. Clayton was ranked just outside of the top-100 nationally. Borta won at number-three singles in straight sets, but Clemente lost at number-two as did Chow at number-four. Drucker lost an early lead to fall as well, and with the score tied 3-3, Columbia looked to freshman Kung to pull out his match. Kung, however, seemed to run out of gas, losing 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.
Dartmouth and Harvard, on the women’s side, swept Columbia in matchups that featured outstanding efforts by several Lions players. Against a strong Dartmouth team, Sydney Murray won at number-four singles to give the Light Blue its sole point 4-6, 7-5, (10-5). In addition, Columbia was very much in all of the top-three singles matches, losing most sets by only one break. Against Harvard, the women lost by the same score as the men did, 4-3.
The Lions lost the doubles point to get down 1-0 early, but were bolstered by a straight-set win at number-two singles by Stephanie Zilberman. Zilberman was a 6-4, 6-1 winner over a tough Harvard opponent. Columbia was also able to win matches at number-five and number-six singles, a feat that shows the depth and talent of the Columbia lineup. Lauren Shearer won in straight sets at number-five singles, and freshman Natalia Christenson won in a third-set super-tiebreaker, as the outcome of the match had already been decided.
The women return home to the Dick Savitt Tennis center next weekend to take on Yale and Brown, while the men will take to the road to face their next set of Ivy opponents, Yale and Brown.