Tulane University
Region III Tournament
Tulane's Koch Stopped in Finals at Region III Championship
Oct 20, 2003 | Men's Tennis
Oct. 20, 2003
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Tulane University junior Dmitiry Koch (Bueckeberg, Germany) was stopped short of his goal of winning the ITA Region III Championship on Monday morning at the Racquet Club of Memphis, falling 6-1, 6-1 to Mississippi State's 11th-ranked Romain Ambert at 10 a.m.
Koch, who is ranked No. 90 in the nation, had won five straight matches to reach the title match, but the talented Ambert held him off on Monday.
"Dmitriy played his best tennis when he needed too," Tulane head coach Robert Klein said. "The disappointment he had at the All-American (last weekend's tournament when he went 1-1), provided him some extra motivation to do well here. This was an important tournament for him. It was good to see. I am sure he was disappointed in today's match, but he had a great weekend. Today does not take away from his accomplishments."
By reaching the championship match, Koch receives an automatic bid to the ITA National Indoor Championships, which take place in three weeks (beginning Nov. 6). Only 32 players are accepted into the National Indoor Field; the two finalists from each of the eight Regional Championships and 16 at-large selections.
"Region III is the strongest and deepest in the country," Klein said. "It speaks highly of Dmitriy to make it as far as he did."
Tulane will host the Beau Holton Memorial Invitational this weekend, with action beginning on Friday at the Goldring Tennis Stadium.
The 2003 ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships is the nation's premier collegiate indoor tennis tournament, and is the second of three national championship events for the college tennis season. The first event, the IcyHot/ITA Men's All-American Championships, were held last week at the University of Georgia. The third event is the season-ending NCAA Championships in May. Overall, more than 10,000 players from nearly 600 schools participate annually in the ITA Regional and National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.
As the governing body of college tennis, the ITA promotes both athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which was founded in 1956 and is based in Skillman, N.J., administers numerous regional and national championships, the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit, presented by the USTA, and the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings for both men's and women's tennis at the NCAA Division I, II and III and NAIA and Junior College levels. The ITA also administers a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship.
