Men's Tennis Downs Southwestern Louisiana
Jun 21, 1999 | Men's Tennis
April 29, 1999
NEW ORLEANS, La. - - All-American Robert Samuelsson ended his Tulane home career in impressive fashion, posting a 6-0, 6-4 victory, as the 24th-ranked Green Wave claimed a 4-3 win over 33rd-ranked Southwestern Louisiana at the Goldring Tennis Stadium on Thursday.
Samuelsson, who earlier in the day picked up his third consecutive Conference USA Player of the Year award, cruised in the first set and held off a determined Rafael Fontes in the second for the win at No. 1 singles. Ranked 12th nationally, Samuelsson's win was his 14th in a row and improved the Boras, Sweden native to 20-4 in dual-match singles play this season.
Tulane (18-7) entered singles play with a 1-0 lead after narrowly claiming the doubles point. Samuelsson and teammate Ronald Kloppert were 8-5 winners at No. 1 doubles, while USL claimed the No. 3 spot with an 8-6 victory, leaving the No. 2 spot to decide the critical doubles point. The Tulane duo of Dennis Lundberg and Mikko Viljanen rallied for a 9-8 victory, claiming the deciding game with an 8-6 win, to give the Wave the point and a 1-0 lead heading into singles.
USL quickly rallied to even the scores, as Bernard Kaczorowski posted a 6-0, 6-0 win over Tulane's Viljanen at No. 5 singles. Samuelsson's victory restored the Green Wave's margin to 2-1, but the Ragin Cajuns again leveled the score, as Michael Jordan was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Tulane's Lundberg.
Derya Rose pushed the Green Wave back in front with his 6-4, 6-4 win over Carlos Himpler at No. 6, giving Tulane a 3-2 lead. The Green Wave sealed the win with Ronald Kloppert's win at No. 3 singles. Down a set, Kloppert cruised in the second and third games to take a 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory and give Tulane its 14th victory in its last 17 matches.
Earlier in the day, Tulane claimed a host of honors, as the 1999 Conference USA awards were announced. Samuelsson was named the league's Player of the Year for the third straight season and was a first-team all-conference selection. Lundberg joined Samuelsson on the first team for the second consecutive year, while Kloppert was chosen to the second team after having been a third-team choice a year ago.
Tulane vs. Southwestern Louisiana
April 29, 1999 - Goldring Tennis Stadium
Singles
No. 1 - Robert Samuelsson (Tulane) def. Rafael Fontes (USL), 6-0, 6-4
No. 2 - Eduardo Gordilho (USL) def. Dennis Lundberg (Tulane), 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 - Ronald Kloppert (Tulane) def. Michael Jordan (USL), 6-7, 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 - Bruno Puzzi (USL) def. Chris Ortner (Tulane), 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
No. 5 - Bernard Kaczorowski (USL) def. Mikko Viljanen (Tulane), 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 - Derya Rose (Tulane) def. Carlos Himpler (USL), 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 - Samuelsson/Kloppert (Tulane) def. Jordan/Gordilho (USL), 8-5
No. 2 - Lundberg/Viljanen (Tulane) def. Puzzi/Kaczorowski (USL), 9-8 (8-6)
No. 3 - Fontes/Himpler (USL) def. Ortner/Rose (Tulane), 8-6
Final Score: No. 24 Tulane 4, No. 33 Southwestern Louisiana 3
For more information, contact: Philip Allison at (504) 865-5506
