Tulane University
All-American Main Draw
Kogan Ousted in Semifinals of ITA's
Oct 13, 2001 | Men's Tennis
Oct. 13, 2001
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. - Sophomore Michael Kogan (Kfar-Saba, Israel) of Tulane University defeated another nationally-ranked opponent Saturday morning at the prestigious Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American Championships at the Lincoln Tennis Center in Stone Mountain, Ga. However, he lost in the semifinals of the event in the afternoon.
Battling South Alabama's Kosta Zinchanka in the semifinals, Kogan faltered, losing 6-1, 6-2 to the No. 91 ranked player in the nation, 6-1, 6-2.
"Michael didn't play as well as he had been earlier in the tournament," Tulane head coach Robert Klein said. "Zinchanka came up with some good shots. He has won seven or eight matches in a row. He is a very good player on a roll right now. It just wasn't our afternoon, but it was still a great tournament for Michael."
In his first match of the day, Kogan started slow, but settled into a groove midway through his match with No. 19 Tiago Ruffoni from Auburn. After winning his first three games to take a 3-0 first-set lead, he dropped six straight points to put himself in a one-set hole. However, after the pair battled to a 3-3 score in the second set, Kogan focused, winning the final nine points to advance to the semifinals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 triumph.
"Michael played incredible tennis to close out the match," Klein said.
Kogan had upended the tournament's top seed, Duke's Philip King in the quarterfinals. King is ranked No. 2 in the nation. Kogan was the No. 9 seed.
With 360 players competing in the singles draws, the ITA Men's All-American Championship is the largest collegiate tennis tournament in the country. This tournament (and the Riviera Women's All-American Championships in Pacific Palisades, Calif., this week) are the first of three national collegiate tennis championships this 2001-02 season. The All-American, the Nov. 8-11 Omni Hotels National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, and the year-end NCAA Championships are college tennis' three national championship events (for singles and doubles) during the season for Division I men and women.
Further results from the ITA All-American Championship will be posted at TulaneGreenWave.com as well as at www.itatennis.com.
