Men’s Tennis to Duel With Knights, While Women Face Two Teams at Penn State

The Columbia men’s and women’s tennis teams return to action this weekend as the men take on the 6-1 Black Knights of Army and the women travel to Penn State to take on both the Nittany Lions and the West Virginia Mountaineers. The men will look to continue their winning ways, while the women will look to regain momentum following a two-week layoff due to last week’s snow storm.
Though the Lions managed to defeat the Black Knights last season in a 6-1 victory, head coach Bid Goswami knows that his team will not take Army lightly.
“We played them three years ago, and we came in undefeated and they caught us off guard,” Goswami said. “I think we were a little complacent coming in.”
This year, Columbia comes in touting a lineup that is as talented and deep as ever, and one that is on a roll. The Lions come into this match 4-1 in nonconference play and having won three matches in a row over quality opponents.
One Lion to keep an eye on in this match is senior co-captain Jared Drucker, who made his return from offseason hand surgery last week against St. John’s, where he notched wins in both singles and doubles.
“Jared will get better,” Goswami said. “He’s still not 100 percent yet, but as we get closer to the Ivy League season, I expect him to be a really good player for us.”
While Drucker comes in with momentum, the other senior co-captain of the team, Justin Chow, comes into the match in a slump, with a record of 1-4 on the season.
“Justin is going through a little bit of a rough phase, but I expect him to fight out of it soon,” Goswami said. “He has been in this situation before, and he knows what it takes.”
The Black Knights will counter with a talented lineup headed by junior Phil Muhawi, who comes into the match 2-2 on the season. Muhawi lost last year at number three singles against Columbia in straight sets, but he appears to be a much better and more confident singles player this year and will certainly test the Lions’ number one singles player, Mark Clemente.
The women will embark this weekend on a road swing that will keep them away from the friendly confines of the Dick Savitt Tennis Center until March 29, for their Ivy League opener against Cornell. In the meantime, the Lions, 2-3 on the season, will certainly be busy, as first year head coach Ilene Weintraub will help the Lions prepare for an opponent in West Virginia that she knows well from her time at Seton Hall University.
“Both West Virginia and Penn State are new opponents for us this year, and I am excited for a chance to play such quality opponents,” Weintraub said. “This should be great preparation for the Ivy League season, where some of our opponents will be ranked as well.”
The Mountaineers come into the match with a 4-2 record and look poised to make another run at the Big East Championship this season.
“The West Virginia team is a strong and talented team, but I think that they are beatable if we play our best,” Weintraub said.
The Nittany Lions will host both matches and come into the weekend with a record of 2-5. However, they are coming off a strong showing against Wisconsin that resulted in a 4-3 win. In addition, the Nittany Lions have been ranked as high as number 75 in the NCAA national rankings for some time this season, but currently are out of the rankings. Weintraub is especially pleased with the play of first-year Stephanie Zilberman, who comes in with a record of 3-2 at number three singles.
“Stephanie goes out and plays hard every match and fights for every point,” Weintraub said. “She works hard in practice, takes her fitness seriously, and I really think that that is going to help her as she progresses.”
The men will play Army at 2 p.m. on Friday at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center. The women travel to Penn State to take on West Virginia and Penn in University Park, Penn.