FLUSHING, N.Y. - The Columbia men’s duo of Ashok Narayana and Max Schnur stunned Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese of the University of Tennessee 6-3, 6-2 to win the doubles draw of the ITA/USTA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.
The Columbia men's and women's tennis teams are being represented by seven student-athletes in all this weekend at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Recaps for each day of action can be found below.
VIDEO: Narayana/Schnur Match Point - Semifinals - 2013 USTA/ITA National Indoors
Day 1: Thursday, November 7
Narayana/Schnur kicked off round one of opening day by downing the No. 3 doubles team in the nation, Jackson Withrow and Junior Ore from Texas A&M by an 8-4 score. Narayana/Schnur continued their success with an 8-2 victory over No. 14 Rafael Aita/Sam Williams of UNCW in the second round of the main doubles draw.
In singles, the seventh-seeded and No. 54-ranked Winston Lin downed No. 23 Alex Sarkissian (Pepperdine) in the first set, 6-0, 6-2.
Schnur battled it out with No. 41 Campbell Johnson (California), falling 6-1 in the first set and taking it out to a tiebreaker in set two before dropping the match.
In women’s action, two Columbia doubles teams fell in the first round despite strong performances from both. The Columbia partnership of Tina Jiang and Crystal Leung dropped a tough tiebreaker, 8-7 (7-5), to USC’s No. 54 team of Giuliana Olmos and Zoe Scandalis.
Meanwhile, the Columbia pair of Kanika Vaidya and Bianca Sanon fell to No. 50 Lauren Herring and Maho Kowase of Georgia in the first round of the main doubles draw. Vaidya/Sanon went on to win in the first round of the doubles consolation bracket later in the day by an 8-5 score over the No. 18-ranked pair from Utah, Tereza Bekerova/Paige Miles.
In singles action, Sanon put up a strong fight but ultimately fell to Hayley Carter from UNC, 6-3, 6-3.
Vaidya played well against Breaunna Addison of Texas, but dropped the match by set scores of 6-2, 6-3.
Day 2: Friday, November 8
Narayana/Schnur advanced to the semifinal round after toppling Simon Felix and Deni Zmak of Embry-Riddle, 8-3, and are set to battle Benjamin Lock and Marco Nunez of Florida State at 9 a.m. on Friday.
No. 54 Lin continued his strong play in singles action with a gutsy second round victory over North Carolina’s Brett Clark. Lin opened the match with 6-4 first-set victory, but Clark attempted a comeback by evening the score at 1-1 with a 6-3 second-set victory. However, Lin persisted with his winning ways by downing the Tarheel player in set three, 6-3 to clinch the final spot in the quarterfinal round.
Pitted against No. 85 Axel Alvarez of Oklahoma in the quarterfinals, Lin continued to play well, but ultimately fell by set scores of 6-3, 6-3.
In the men’s singles consolation round, Schnur edged Denver’s Henry Craig in a thrilling three-set tiebreaker, fighting off several match points along the way. The Richmond, Va. native battled it out to win the first set in a 7-6(5) tiebreaker before Craig evened the match with a 6-4 win in the second set. Schnur stayed strong until the very end, pulling out a 7-6(3) third-set thriller to advance to the second consolation round.
In women’s action, the Columbia doubles pair of Jiang/Leung won their back draw consolation round with an 8-6 victory over Utah’s duo of Bekerova and Miles. The Lions’ partnership of Vaidya/Sanon played well once again but fell to Michigan’s Bektas/Bolender, 8-6.
In women’s singles play, Vaidya defeated Sofie Oyen of Florida in the first consolation round. Vaidya easily won 6-1 in the first set, but Oyen came back in set two, knotting the match at 1-all with a 6-3 win. However, Vaidya held on in set three, coming out on top with a handy 6-2 win.
Day 3: Saturday, November 9
Narayana/Schnur roared their way into the final round on Saturday by downing the Florida State pair of Lock/Nunez in the semifinals by set scores of 6-4, 6-4. The Columbia duo is set to take on the No. 1 doubles team in the nation, Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese of Tenneessee in the final round on Sunday at 10 a.m. Narayana/Schnur will look to earn the first USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate crown in program history.
In women's play, Vaidya's singles run came to an end in the second consolation round. The sophomore dropped a 6-0, 6-1 decision to top-seeded and 27th-ranked Beatrice Capra of Duke.
Day 4: Sunday, November 10
Narayana/Schnur won the program's first-ever collegiate Grand Slam and national tournament crown by defeating the top-seeded and No. 1 nationally ranked pair of Libietis and Reese from Tennessee by set scores of 6-3, 6-2. It was also the first title earned by an Ivy League team since 1999, when James Blake of Harvard won the singles championship.
Men’s Doubles:
R1: Narayana/Schnur (COL) def. Withrow/Ore (A&M), 8-4
R2: Narayana/Schnur (COL) def. Aita/Williams (UNCW), 8-2
QF: Narayana/Schnur (COL) def. Felix/Zmak (Embry-Riddle), 8-3
SF: Narayana/Schnur (COL) def. Lock/Nunez (Florida St.), 6-4, 6-4
F: Narayana/Schnur (COL) def. Libietis/Reese (Tenn.), 6-3, 6-2
Women’s Doubles:
R1: Herring/Kowase (Georgia) def. Vaidya/Sanon (COL),
R1: Olmos/Scandalis (USC) def. Jiang/Leung (COL), 8-7 (7-5)
R1 Con: Vaidya/Sanon (COL) def. Bekerova/Miles (Utah), 8-5
R1 Con: Bektas/Bolender (Michigan) def. Jiang/Leung (COL), 8-2
R1 Con: Jiang/Leung (COL) def. Bekerova/Miles (Utah), 8-6
R2 Con: Bektas/Bolender (Michigan) def. Vaidya/Sanon (COL), 8-6
Men’s Singles:
R1: Winston Lin (COL) def. Alex Sarkissian (Pepperdine), 6-0, 6-2
R1: Campbell Johnson (CAL) def. Max Schnur (COL), 6-1, 7-6
R2: Winston Lin (COL) def. Brett Clark (UNC), 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
R1 Con: Max Schnur (COL) def. Henry Craig (Denver) 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(3)
QF: Axel Alvarez (Okla.) def. Winston Lin (COL), 6-3, 6-3
R2 Con: Nik Scholtz (Miss.) def. Max Schnur (COL), w/o
Women’s Singles:
R1: Hayley Carter (UNC) def. Bianca Sanon (COL), 6-3, 6-3
R1: Breaunna Addison (Texas) def. Kanika Vaidya (COL), 6-2, 6-3
Con1: Cristina Stancu (A&M) def. Bianca Sanon (COL), 6-3, 7-6(1)
Con1: Kanika Vaidya (COL) def. S. Oyen (Florida), 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Con2: Beatrice Capra (Duke) def. Kanika Vaidya (COL), 6-0, 6-1
