#7 Tennessee Falls to #10 Columbia, 4-1

Box Score NEW YORK – The seventh-ranked Tennessee men’s tennis team came up short against No. 10 Columbia, 4-1, on Friday night inside Philip and Cheryl Milstein Tennis Center.
 
Tennessee (7-2) dropped the doubles point to Columbia (5-1). The Lions’ two wins came on courts one and two.
 
Columbia took a 3-0 advantage with straight-set victories on courts four and two. The Vols’ only point came from ninth-ranked Johannus Monday, who posted his sixth win over a ranked opponent, routing No. 15 Michael Zheng in 6-4, 6-2 fashion. 
 
Filip Pieczonka fought hard on court three, but he ultimately fell in two tiebreaker sets, 6-7(1), 6-7(10), to Nicolas Kotzen. Angel Diaz and Filip Apltauer were battling in their third sets before their matches went unfinished.
 
MONDAY VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Johannus Monday boasts an impressive 6-0 record vs. ranked opponents in 2023-24, four being ranked inside the top 30.
 
UP NEXT
The Vols head back to the Big Apple to compete in the 2024 ITA National Indoor Championships, running Feb. 16-19.
 
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Theo Winegar/Michael Zheng (COL) def. #9 Johannus Monday/Angel Diaz (UT), 6-2
2. #24 Nicolas Kotzen/Max Westphal (COL) def. #28 Shunsuke Mitsui/Filip Pieczonka (UT), 6-4
3. Sachin Palta/Alex Kotzen (COL) vs. Younes Lalami/Filip Apltauer (UT), 6-5 unf.
 
Order of Finish: 1,2
 
Singles
1. #9 Johannus Monday (UT) def. #15 Michael Zheng (COL), 6-4, 6-2
2. #101 Alex Kotzen (COL) def. #16 Shunsuke Mitsui (UT), 6-2, 6-1
3. Nicolas Kotzen (COL) def. #66 Filip Pieczonka (UT), 7-6(1), 7-6(10)
4. Max Westphal (COL) def. Younes Lalami (UT), 6-3, 6-1
5. Filip Apltauer (UT) vs. Hugo Hashimoto (COL), 6-7(7), 7-5, 0-1 unf.
6. Angel Diaz (UT) vs. Sachin Plata (COL), 6-4, 5-7, 3-4 unf.
 
Order of Finish: 4,2,1,3