Columbia Men’s Tennis looked to pick up their first conference win this Saturday against the Yale Bulldogs. Yale sported a better record heading into Saturday’s match at the Dick Savitt Center, and the Lions would need all the heroics they could get to pull off an upset.

The day did not look promising early, as Yale doubles took two of three matches to earn a point. Columbia’s number two singles Cyril Bucher was blown out by Yale’s John Huang, picking up only two games in a 6-2, 6-0 defeat. Nathaniel Gery, the number three singles, would have a close first set, but unforced errors proved to be his undoing.

Columbia was facing an uphill battle, needing to win all four remaining matches. Number six singles’ Rajeev Deb-Sen fought tooth and nail with Jordan Abergel, finally muscling out a three set win. Number five singles’ Tizian Bucher also had a struggle with Joel Samaha but ultimately prevailed by sticking to serve and volley fundamentals.

Columbia’s number one singles was an underdog when taking the court opposite last year’s Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Year, Marc Powers. Schneidermann got off to a roaring start, winning the first set six love. Powers would win the second set 6-3 but his success was short-lived, and the Bulldog fell to the Lion in the third and deciding set 6-2.

Both team’s hopes now rested on the outcome of the Number 4 singles match pitting Columbia’s Jon Yetimoglu against Erik Blumenkranz. Blumenkranz took the first set 6-4, but Yetimoglu pushed back, winning a second set tiebreaker to force a third set. Late into the set, Blumenkranz looked unstoppable on his serve. Down 30-40 match point, Yetimoglu responded with a backhand winner. The two men would play another tiebreaker, this one to determine the match. Down 7-8 with the match on the line, Blumenkranz would tense up, and what resulted would send Columbia into a frenzy. Blumenkranz hit his second serve wide right, signaling the end to a grueling match. 

The epic come from behind win gave the Lions much reason to celebrate. The Lions will play Brown this Sunday and then play Princeton on Friday and Penn on the following Sunday.