Tulane University
Southern Miss
Men's Tennis Tops Southern Miss
Apr 7, 2002 | Men's Tennis
April 7, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Tulane University upended Conference USA rival Southern Miss, 5-2, in men's tennis action on Sunday afternoon at the Goldring Tennis Stadium. The Green Wave won four matches in three sets and also swept the doubles flights.
Tulane, ranked No. 26 in the nation, improves to 14-6 with the victory. Southern Miss drops to 6-9.
Tulane won the doubles point, but then dropped its matches at Nos. 5 and 6 singles to trail 2-1. The Wave also lost its first set at both No. 1 and No. 2 singles.
Junior Jorge Lievano (Bucaramanga, Columbia) evened the match at two with a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory at No. 3 singles. At No. 1 singles, sophomore Michael Kogan (Kfar-Saba, Israel), currently ranked No. 23 in the nation, rallied, coming from behind for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Junior Victor Romero (Atizapan, Mexico) clinched the win for the Green Wave at third singles. After losing the opening set, 4-6, he cruised to 6-2, 6-2 wins in the second and third sets for the victory, making it 4-2.
Junior Mattias Westerberg (Lulea, Sweden) rounded out the match with a three-set victory at No. 4. After winning the opening set, 6-2, he fell 4-6 in set two. Trailing 4-2 in the final set, the junior rallied, using big serves to put the match away with a 6-4 win. He served a pair of aces in the final game, including an ace on match point.
In between the doubles and singles, Tulane honored Green Wave tennis great Cliff Sutter by dedicating a court in his name. The NCAA singles champion in 1930 and 1932, Sutter was ranked as high as No. 5 in the world and advanced to the semifinals at the 1932 U.S. Open.
The Wave returns to action on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. when it hosts Southeastern Louisiana.
Results: No. 26 Tulane 5, Southern Miss 2
Doubles:
1. No. 8 Kogan/Romero (Tulane) def. J.J. Martin/Nicolas Carteret (USM): 8-4
2. Piiroinen/Vasiljevic (Tulane) def. David Jansson/David Canudas (USM): 8-4
3. Westerberg/Lievano (Tulane) def. Miikka Kangas/Uwe Gneiting (USM): 8-3
Singles:
1. No. 23 Michael Kogan (Tulane) def. Jansson (USM): 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
2. No. 67 Victor Romero (Tulane) def. Kangas (USM): 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
3. Mattias Westerberg (Tulane) def. Martin (USM): 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
4. Jorge Lievano (TU) def. Gneiting (USM): 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
5. David Canudas (USM) def. Hannu Piiroinen (TU): 6-4, 7-6
6. Nicolas Carderet (USM) def. Alexandre Dion (TU): 6-2, 6-2
Records:
Tulane (14-6)
Southern Miss (6-9)
Players Mentioned
