Tulane Men's Tennis Travels to C-USA Championship
Apr 15, 2003 | Men's Tennis
April 15, 2003
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Tulane University men's tennis team will look for its third Conference USA Championship this weekend at Charles Heyer Park Tennis Complex in Waukesha, Wis. The Green Wave, ranked No. 19 in the country, earned the top seed in the tourney and will play on Thursday at noon against the winner of the Charlotte (9-10)-Saint Louis (7-11) match.
Tulane won league titles in 1997 and 2001. The Green Wave is making a bid for its seventh-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
All 12 Conference USA schools will compete at the championship, with the top four seeds (Tulane, TCU, South Florida and Louisville) each receiving a first round bye. Marquette University will serve as the host of the four-day event.
In addition to Tulane, the tournament will feature four other teams ranked in the top 60 nationally. Tulane's Michael Kogan and Victor Romero will be joined by five other nationally-ranked singles and doubles players.
The top-seeded Green Wave enters this year's championship with a 16-5 overall mark and ranked 19th in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Omni Hotels poll. The Green Wave is led by the league's highest ranked player, Kogan, who is seventh in the ITA rankings. A junior from Kfar-Saba, Israel, Kogan is 17-2 this spring in singles play. Kogan and Romero have teamed up in doubles to form the eighth-ranked tandem in the country with an 18-1 mark this spring. The duo is 9-1 against ranked opponents. As a team, Tulane owns wins over SMU, Mississippi State, San Diego State, UAB, Boise State, William & Mary, Tulsa, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt and Louisiana-Lafayette, all of which are currently or were ranked during the season.
TCU, the 32nd-ranked team by the ITA, picked up the No. 2 seed. The Horned Frogs (13-7) are a perfect 3-0 against C-USA teams, including a win over top-seed Tulane in the C-USA Intraconference Tournament (March 11-13). TCU's top player is Alex Menchini, who has posted a 16-13 record and is ranked 74th in the nation. The Horned Frogs have qualified for the NCAA Tournament each of the last 12 seasons, including a pair of NCAA semifinal appearances
TCU will play on Thursday at 9 a.m. in the quarterfinals against the winner of the opening round match between seventh-seeded UAB (9-12) and 10th-seeded East Carolina (8-11). The Blazers and the Pirates are scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
For the second consecutive year, South Florida (14-6) secured the No. 3 seed and will look to defend its 2002 C-USA Championship title this weekend. The Bulls, ranked 38th in the latest ITA, have defeated a pair of ranked opponents this season. Uli Kiendi tabbed the No. 69 spot with an 8-6 record, while teammate Paco Antelo is 103rd and owns an 8-7 mark this spring.
The Bulls will play their quarterfinal match on Thursday at 9 a.m. They will meet the winner of the first round match between fifth-seed Memphis (13-8) and 12th-seed DePaul (4-17), which is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Memphis is the only nationally ranked team not to receive a bye into the quarterfinal round. The Tigers are ranked 67th and are led by the doubles tandem of Ben Stapp and Lee Walker.
Fourth-seeded Louisville, ranked 51st, has an 18-6 record this season and is led by Cody Conley and Paulo Carvalho. Conley is 17-4 in dual match competition, while Carvalho is 12-7. Cardinals will also look to get contributions from Jhonny Berrido, who owns an 18-2 mark this spring.
The Cardinals will play in the quarterfinal round on Thursday at noon. They will meet the winner of sixth-seed Southern Miss (8-11) and 11th seed Marquette (3-12), who meet at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
Play continues with the semifinal round on Saturday at 9 a.m. and at noon. The championship match is schedules for noon on Sunday. Should inclement weather force the stoppage of play outdoors, the tournament will move to the Helfaer Tennis Stadium on the campus of Marquette University.
Updated scores and match recaps will be available each day on www.C-USASports.com.
