SAN DIEGO — No. 28 Columbia dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 18 San Diego on Saturday at Hogan Tennis Center.
Columbia’s lone point came from Sachin Palta at No. 4 singles, where he rallied after dropping the opening set in a tiebreak to defeat Lambert Ruland. Palta took the second set 6-2 and led 3-2 in the third before Ruland retired.
San Diego controlled the remainder of singles play, beginning with a straight-sets win at the top spot as No. 46 Oliver Tarvet defeated eighth-ranked Michael Zheng, 6-2, 6-3. The Toreros followed with victories at No. 2 and No. 5 singles to secure the team win. Manvydas Balciunas topped Nicolas Kotzen, 6-4, 6-4, while Neo Niedner outlasted Abhishek Thorat, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Columbia pushed in multiple matches that went the distance. At No. 3, Stian Klaassen edged Thanaphat Boosarawongse in a third-set tiebreak, 7-6 (7-3), after splitting the first two sets. At No. 6, Luc Wieland also needed a deciding super tiebreak to defeat Aditya Govila, 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-3).
San Diego claimed the doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Tarvet and Vincent Marysko defeated Zheng and Palta, 6-2, while Klaassen and Balciunas secured the point with a 6-1 victory over Thorat and Boosarawongse. The match at No. 1 doubles went unfinished.
Columbia falls to 9-6 on the year and has lost two in a row. On the road, the Lions are 1-4.
The Lions return to action on Saturday, March 28, when they host Bryant at the Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center. It is the final nonconference match for Columbia before it begins Ivy League play on April 4 at Brown.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #46 Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. #8 Michael Zheng (COL) 6-2, 6-3
2. Manvydas Balciunas (USD) def. #31 Nicolas Kotzen (COL) 6-4, 6-4
3. #117 Stian Klaassen (USD) def. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3)
4. #64 Sachin Palta (COL) def. Lambert Ruland (USD) 6-7 (0-7), 6-2, 3-2, retired
5. Neo Niedner (USD) def. Abhishek Thorat (COL) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
6. Luc Wieland (USD) def. Aditya Govila (COL) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-3)
Doubles
1. #27 Adrien Berrut/Lambert Ruland (USD) vs. #54 Andrew Ena/Nicolas Kotzen (COL) 5-4, unfinished
2. Oliver Tarvet/Vincent Marysko (USD) def. Michael Zheng/Sachin Palta (COL) 6-2
3. Stian Klaassen/Manvydas Balciunas (USD) def. Abhishek Thorat/Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL)
Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,2,5,4,3,6)
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