Friday, 09/14/2012

NEW YORK - The Columbia women's tennis team will open the fall 2012 season this weekend, hosting the Columbia Invitational Friday, Sept. 14 through Sunday, Sept. 16.

The Lions will welcome Harvard, St. John's, Binghamton, Fairfield, UMass and Penn to the Dick Savitt Tennis Center for three days of competition. The Columbia Invitational will feature four draws of singles competition, as well as two doubles draws over the course of the weekend.

Columbia is coming off the best season in program history. The Lions played their way to a 13-6 overall record, and 4-3 in the Ivy League. Nicole Bartnik, the Ivy League Player of the Year last season returns for her senior campaign. Bartnik will use the first two tournaments of the fall season to prepare for the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships, which she was selected to compete in by the ITA. The All-American Championships is considered the premiere tournament of the fall tennis season.

In addition to Bartnik's return, Columbia did not lose a single student-athlete to graduation. The Lions welcome a trio of freshmen who will look to help Columbia improve upon its third-place Ivy League finish in 2012. 

Following this weekend, Columbia will head to Philadelphia, Pa. to compete at the Cissie Leary Invitational Sept. 21-23.