No. 7 Blue Devils Fall to No. 6 Columbia, 4-1

Sunday, February 16

Waco, Texas

7:30 PM

Duke University

Columbia University

Remy Dugardin holds the ball and prepares for a serve at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 7 Blue Devils Fall to No. 6 Columbia, 4-1

2/16/2025 10:41:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

WACO, Texas – The No. 7 Duke men's tennis team ended its trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship Sunday evening with a 4-1 loss to No. 6 Columbia at the Jim and Nell Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.

Duke suffered three setbacks during the ITA's premier indoor event and is 7-3 heading into the start of the outdoor season and ACC competition.

How It Happened

Columbia took the first doubles decision with a 6-3 win on court three as No. 62 Hugo Hashimoto and Jayden Templeman topped senior Connor Krug and junior Teddy Truwit. With the match even at 3-3, Columbia's duo went on a break-hold-break run to end the set.
Court one had Duke even the action with graduate Theo Winegar and junior Pedro Rodenas defeating No. 45 Michael Zheng and Nicolas Kotzen, 6-4. The Blue Devil pair broke to open the match and went up 2-0. Columbia's duo was never able to force a tie as Duke held serve throughout the match.
The Lions secured the point on court two as No. 86 Max Westphal and Sachin Palta topped the No. 63 team of sophomore Cooper Williams and graduate Andreja Petrovic, 7-5. With the two teams holding serve through the first six games, Duke broke, only to have Columbia break right back and knot the set at 4-4. The two sides held through the next three games with the Lions leading 6-5. Duke held a 40-15 advantage and was a point away from a tiebreaker, but Columbia stormed back to set the set and earn the doubles point.
Duke quickly evened the match at 1-1 as graduate Remy Dugardin raced off court six with a 6-1, 6-4 victory against Thanaphat Boosarawongse. After breezing through the first set and taking a 3-1 advantage in the second, Dugardin was pushed by Boosarawongse, who twice cut the deficit down to a game at 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4. Dugardin served out for the win and finished 2-0 during the ITA's main indoor event, improving to 6-0 in dual competition.
The Lions regained the lead at 2-1 on court one, where No. 1 Zheng upended No. 59 Williams, 6-3, 6-2. In the opening set, Zheng broke and held to take a 4-1 lead and never looked back. After Zheng led 2-0 in the second set, Williams answered and evened the action at 2-2. Zheng responded with the last four games and the match.
Columbia pushed its lead to 3-1 with No. 40 Kotzen defeating No. 39 Rodenas 6-4, 6-4 on court two. With the first set even at 3-3, Kotzen broke and held for a 5-3 lead. Rodenas got a game back for a 5-4 deficit, but Kotzen served out for the set. In the second set, the two held through the first eight games and were knotted at 4-4 before Kotzen broke and held for the match. Rodenas went 2-1 during the ITA event and is now 5-2 in dual singles matches.
The Lions clinched on five with Palta earning a 6-3, 7-6 (1) win against junior Gerard Planelles Ripoll. Palta led 4-0 and 5-1 in the first set before Planelles Ripoll earned two games back, only to have Palta break for the set. With the first set in hand, Palta held and broke to go up 2-0 in the second. Planelles Ripoll rallied and knotted the match at 3-3. Palta again had an answer and took a 5-3 advantage. Planelles Ripoll then evened the set and forced a tiebreaker. Once in the tiebreaker, Palta surrendered just one point for the triumph.

Up Next

Duke returns to action for the start of the outdoor season on February 28 to host No. 5 Virginia at Ambler Tennis Stadium. First serve is set for 3 p.m.

Results
Doubles (3,1,2)
1. Pedro Rodenas/Theo Winegar (DU) def. #45 Michael Zheng/Nicolas Kotzen (COL) 6-4
2. #86 Max Westphal/Sachin Palta (COL) def. #63 Cooper Williams/Andreja Petrovic (DU) 7-5
3. #62 Hugo Hashimoto/Jayden Templeman (COL) def. Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit (DU) 6-3

Singles (6,1,2,5)
1. #1 Michael Zheng (COL) def. #59 Cooper Williams (DU) 6-3, 6-2
2. # 40 Nicolas Kotzen (COL) def. #39 Pedro Rodenas (DU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Andreja Petrovic (DU) vs. Max Westphal (COL) 7-6 (5), 3-6, 2-2, unfinished
4. Connor Krug (DU) vs. #41 Hugo Hashimoto (COL) 6-2, 3-6, 5-3, unfinished
5. Sachin Palta (COL) def. Gerard Planelles Ripoll (DU) 6-3, 7-6 (1)
6. Remy Dugardin (DU) def. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL) 6-1, 6-4

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