Columbia is really good at tennis, guys.

Sports Editor Abby Rubel is back with weekly previews and recaps of Columbia Athletics!

Men’s Tennis: The Lions will open their season this weekend with a series of matches against William and Mary, Georgetown, Denver, and Middle Tennessee State at the Penn Invitational. The team welcomes back powerhouse players senior Victor Pham, ranked 13th in the International Tennis Association’s single rankings; junior Jackie Tang, ranked 40th; and sophomore Jack Lin, ranked 110th. The team of Lin and senior William Matheson made the doubles rankings in eighth place, with Pham and Tang clocking in a few rungs down at eighteenth.

Volleyball: The Blue and White (3-3) will play their first home games of the season on Friday, facing St. Francis Brooklyn (4-6) at 2:00 pm and Fordham (4-5) at 6:00 pm. Saturday, the team will head to Long Island to face Hofstra (8-3) at 10:30 am and Seton Hall (4-6) at 3:00 pm. First-year Emily Teehan is the player to watch. She’s only played two weekends so far, but already leads the team with 69 kills. In aces, her 12 make her first in the Ivy League and 28th nationally.

Football: The Lions will open their season on Saturday at Central Connecticut State at 5:00 pm. Sophomore Josh Bean will look to fill Anders Hill’s shoes at quarterback. With Hill at the helm, the Lions went 8-2 last year for their most successful season in 21 years. Bean saw some action last year, mostly executing short runs. On 22 carries, he had eight touchdowns and 13 rushing yards. Star wide receivers Josh Wainwright and Ronald Smith will return for their junior-year seasons. The Lions won’t play at Baker until September 28, when they’ll take on Princeton, but you can watch the game on NEC Front Row or listen on the Columbia Online Radio Network. WKRC might also be covering it.

Photo via gocolumbialions.com