NEW YORK, N.Y. – Ninth-seeded Arizona Men’s Tennis concluded its 2024 season on Saturday, falling in a 4-3 decision to eight-seed Columbia in the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tennis Championships.
The Wildcats wrap up their season with a 26-4 overall record and a 7-1 Pac-12 record.
Play was tight from the start with all three doubles courts knotting up at 2-2. From there, two matches went to tiebreakers.
The Lions (23-3, 6-1 Ivy League) got the first win of the day when Nicolas Kotzen and Max Westphal defeated Herman Hoeyeraal and Eric Padgham 7-5 on court two.
No. 46 Colton Smith and Jay Friend were back-and-forth with No. 16 Theo Winegar and Michael Zheng, forcing a tiebreaker that the Wildcats duo would go on to win 7-6(7). Columbia took the doubles point, however, when Alex Kotzen and Henry Ruger claimed a 7-6(3) victory over Sasha Rozin and Gustaf Strom.
While Columbia took the first singles win with No. 23 Zheng’s 6-4, 6-1 defeat of No. 22 Smith, every singles court was closely contested. No. 70 Strom and Casper Christensen each forced third sets on their courts, and Hoeyeraal and Nick Lagaev each won their first sets.
Hoeyeraal was the first Wildcat with a victory, gutting out a 7-6(0), 6-3 win on court four, but moments later No. 100 Alex Kotzen defeated No. 35 Friend 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
The Cats fought back, winning the next two singles matches to even the team score at three-all. Nick Lagaev defeated Ruger 6-4, 6-4 on court six before 70th-ranked Strom completed the comeback victory over Nicolas Kotzen 1-6, 6-3, 6-0.
The match came down to court five where Christensen was locked into a three-set battle with Hugo Hashimoto. After splitting the first two sets, play was at 2-2 when the team score was evened. Hashimoto went on to win three straight games, setting up his eventual 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win.
Results
#9 Arizona 3, #8 Columbia 4
Doubles Competition
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
- #46 Colton Smith/Jay Friend def. #16 Theo Winegar/Michael Zheng 7-6(7)
- Nicolas Kotzen/Max Westphal def. Herman Hoeyeraal/Eric Padgham 7-5
- Alex Kotzen/Henry Ruger def. Sasha Rozin/Gustaf Strom 7-6(3)
Singles Competition
Order of finish: 1, 4, 2, 6, 3, 5
- #23 Michael Zheng def. #22 Colton Smith 6-4, 6-1
- #100 Alex Kotzen def. #35 Jay Friend 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
- #70 Gustaf Strom def. Nicolas Kotzen 1-6, 6-3, 6-0
- Herman Hoeyeraal…
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