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It had been 102 years since an Ivy League player captured the NCAA Division I singles title in men’s tennis. Michael Zheng snapped the century-long drought.

The second-seeded Columbia junior defeated unseeded Michigan State junior Ozan Baris 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the final on Sunday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas.

Second-seeded Georgia senior Dasha Vidmanova captured the women’s singles crown in an all-SEC final, defeating unseeded Auburn junior DJ Bennett 6-3, 6-3 to become the fourth NCAA singles champion in UGA program history. Vidmanova is the first UGA women’s player to ever win both the NCAA singles and doubles titles after teaming with Ayesgul Mert to claim the doubles crown last May.

This year marked the first time the NCAA Division I Individual Championships was held in the fall instead of in the spring alongside the team championships.

The men’s singles final was an all-American affair featuring players who chose to play college close to home. Zheng, a New Jersey native, was playing in the singles final for the second straight season after finishing as the runner-up in May. Baris, a Michigan native, was the first Michigan State player in program history to reach the singles final. Baris was eliminated in the semifinals last May by eventual champion Filip Planinsek of Alabama.

Zheng became the first men’s singles champion from Columbia in the modern era. Robert LeRoy claimed the NCAA singles title in 1904 and 1906. The last champion from an Ivy League school was Lucien Williams (Yale) in 1922.

"Honestly, it's a huge relief," Zheng said. "It feels amazing to finally get it done and get the title for myself and Columbia."

After splitting sets, Zheng jumped on top early in the third set with an early break of Baris for a 2-0 advantage. Zheng held serve throughout and forced another break to pull away and secure the title.

"I knew it was going to be a tough match today," Zheng said. "I knew he wanted it really bad and he was going to come out and give it his best. I kind of just did the same. I thought I'm just going to make this third set as tough as possible. I'm happy to get it done."

Vidmanova made quick work of Bennett, a Florida native who was the first player in Auburn program history to reach the NCAA singles final. Fani Chifchieva’s semifinal finish in 2008 was the previous best for the Tigers.

The doubles finals both went the distance.

TCU seniors Lui Maxted and Pedro Vives defeated Michigan senior Gavin Young and junior Benjamin Kittay 6-3, 6-7, 10-2 to capture the second national doubles title in program history. Maxted and Vives join David Pate and Karl Richter (1981) as the only Horned Frogs to capture an NCAA individual championship.

Young and Kittay were the first doubles team from Michigan to reach the finals.

Virginia seniors Melodie Collard and Elaine Chervinsky rallied to win the women’s title, beating UCLA freshmen Olivia Center and Kate Fakih 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 in the final. It was the second straight match that Collard and Chervinsky mounted a comeback, having defeated Florida’s Rachel Gallis and Alicia Dudeney 1-6, 6-3, 10-8 in the semifinals.

In the ITA Collegiate Wheelchair National Individual Championships, Alabama’s Francesco Felici captured the men’s singles title with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Michigan’s Caiden Baxter.

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About Rhiannon Potkey

Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories. Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches. Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You can reach Rhiannon by email at [email protected].