NEW YORK – In the final challenge before the ITA Team National Indoor Championship, the Columbia men’s tennis team prevailed in a 4-1 defeat of Ole Miss at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center.
With the second victory of the spring over the Rebels, the No. 12/14 ranked Lions improve to 5-0, with a trip to Seattle on deck next weekend.
Unlike the first match with Ole Miss, Columbia was able to take the doubles point today, but had to come back in order to do so.
No. 7 ranked Victor Pham and Jackie Tang trailed No. 21 Zvonimir Babic and Filip Kraljevic 3-1 from the outset. The Lion pair evened the match 4-4, just as No. 28 Jack Lin and William Matheson also tied their match by the same score. Lin/Matheson would go on to post a 6-4 win, just as Pham and Tang fell behind, 5-4. The Lions would rally however, as Pham & Tang served past Babic and Kraljevic, giving Columbia the doubles point with a 7-5 win.
After a recent trip to the Davis Cup to play for his native Hong Kong, Tang played in the No. 3 singles spot today, pairing with Babic. The No. 49 ranked sophomore dominated en route to a 6-1, 6-1 victory, making it a 2-0 score in the team standings.
“I did take a break on Friday, I didn’t play any tennis or exercise at all because I think my body was just too tired so I think that really helped me a lot today and really showed during the match,” said Tang.
Leading 2-0, Ole Miss would strike back, taking the No. 4 singles match as Grey Hamilton topped Austen Huang, 6-3, 6-4. The damage would be done however, as the No. 15 ranked Pham topped No. 20 Gustav Hansson, 6-3, 6-4, right before Timothy Wang closed the door with a 7-5, 6-3 clincher.
Now less than a week from the ITA Team National Indoor Championship, Wang and the Lions are looking ahead to the trip to Seattle.
“We’ve been working hard since the beginning of fall,” said Wang. “We have had great wins over in Charlottesville, we had a great pair of wins this past weekend and all I can say is we are excited for this opportunity. We want to go over there and make a name for ourselves.”
The bracket for the ITA Team National Indoor Championship is expected to be released on Monday by the ITA, while play in the tournament begins on Friday from Seattle.
Doubles (Order of Finish: 1-2)
1) No. 28 Lin/Matheson def. No. 15 Sandkaulen/Fallert, 6-4 (12:39 p.m.)
2) No.7 Pham/Tang def. No. 21 Babic/Kraljevic, 7-5 (12:45 p.m.)
3) Ambrozy/Rolski unf. Hansson/Reynolds, 6-6
Singles (Order of Finish: 3-4-1-6)
1) No. 15 Victor Pham def. No. 20 Gustav Hansson, 6-3, 6-4 (2:08 p.m.)
2) Jack Lin unf. No. 16 Tim Sandkaulen, 5-7, 4-1
3) No. 49 Jackie Tang def. Zvonimir Babic, 6-1, 6-1 (1:45 p.m.)
4) Grey Hamilton def. Austen Huang, 6-3, 6-4 (2:03 p.m.)
5) Alex Keyser unf. Fabian Fallert 6-4, 5-2
6) Timothy Wang def. Filip Kraljevic, 7-5, 6-3 (2:12 p.m.)
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