Tulane University
TCU (C-USA)
![Tulane won its second straight Conference USA Championship on Sunday as freshman David Goulet clinched the victory at No. 4 singles. [File photo by Ned Dishman]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Ftulanegreenwave.com%2Fimages%2F2004%2F4%2F18%2Fa-goulet040704.jpg&height=300&type=webp)
Tulane Men Win Second Straight C-USA Tennis Title
Apr 18, 2004 | Men's Tennis
April 18, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Tulane University continued its dominance of Conference USA Men's Tennis, capturing its fourth league title with a 4-1 defeat of top-seeded TCU on Sunday afternoon at HPER Courts on the campus of the University of Memphis. It is the second straight championship for the Green Wave, which is ranked No. 18 in the nation.
Tulane (18-4) lost the doubles point to open play, but wrapped up a perfect singles tournament (the Wave went 10-0 in singles in the three matches) with four wins to earn the title.
"The championship means a lot to me because of the way these guys have developed through the course of the year," Tulane head coach Robert Klein said. "I remember where we were three months ago and we all had faith in each other and we came together. We couldn't have done this without believing in each other. This is a great feeling."
The Green Wave, which was the number two seed in the tourney, had singles wins from senior Michael Kogan, sophomore Jacobo Hernandez, and freshmen Alberto Sottocorno and David Goulet. The win was also the 200th career victory for Green Wave head coach Robert Klein, who has guided the Wave to nine top three finishes in the 10 years of Conference USA.
TCU (16-6), the 17th-ranked team in the nation, came out strong and held a 1-0 lead after the doubles competition. The Horned Frogs captured the doubles point with victories in the second and third flights. Hector Almada and Jacopo Tezza teamed up at No. 2 to beat Goran Vasiljevic and Sottocorno (8-4). The doubles point was clinched when the Jacob Martin and Alex Menichini duo claimed an 8-3 win over Dmitriy Koch and Jacobo Hernandez.
"There are some good teams in this league, but we are the two elite teams in the league this year," Klein said. "We have a lot of respect for them. They played great in doubles today."
However, in singles play, Kogan opened things for the Wave at No. 1 singles with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Alex Menichini, the 39th-ranked player in the nation. Kogan, Tulane's all-time leader in victories, is ranked No. 13. He has not lost a match since March 9th.
"I did not see one point that Michael Kogan played that was bad," Klein said. "He executed his game plan perfectly. He looked possessed today; he wanted it and that was it."
Hernandez and Sottocorno then continued their spectacular debuts for the Green Wave. The newcomers picked up wins at the fifth and sixth flights, respectively, for a 3-1 advantage. Hernandez and Sottocorno, who joined the team in January, both earned three singles wins in the league tournament.
"Jacobo is on fire right now; you want to stay out of his way," Klein said. "Then Alberto wins five or 10 minutes after and we are up 3-1. At that point, the match was still up in the air; Ted [Angelinos] had been fighting off match points and Dmitriy was battling. But David got up a break and he served it out at love to win the title. He was a force in that third set."
The championship was wrapped up for Tulane by another newcomer as freshman David Goulet edged Jacopo Tezza, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3, at No. 4 singles. Tezza had been 15-3 this spring entering the match, with two of his losses coming to nationally-ranked opponents.
"[As far as] winning 200 matches, every time we go out there is a big one for me," Klein said. "I don't count them, if you told me this was my fifth victory as a coach, I would be just as happy. I am just happy to see them celebrate like they did."
Tulane had defeated the Horned Frogs, 4-2, to win the 2003 C-USA Championship. Other title wins for the Wave came in 1997 and 2001.
The Green Wave earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It will be the eighth straight appearance in the NCAAs for Tulane. The first and second rounds will be played at campus sites (to be determined) on May 14-15 or May 15-16.
Tulane's women's tennis team also defeated TCU on Sunday to win the Conference USA Championship. It is the second year in a row that the Wave teams have swept the league title in tennis.
No. 18 Tulane 4, No. 17 TCU 1
Doubles:
1) #35 Kogan/Goulet (TU) v. #27 Abreu/Sestini (TCU): 5-6, Did not finish
2) Almada.Tezza (TCU) def. Sottocorno/Vasiljevic (TU): 8-4
3) Martin/Menichini (TCU) def. Koch/Hernandez (TU): 8-3
Singles:
1) #13 Michael Kogan (TU) #39 Alex Menichini (TCU): 6-1, 6-2
2) #79 Dmitriy Koch (TU) v. Hector Almada (TCU): 1-6, 6-2, 3-4, Did not finish
3) Ted Angelinos (TU) v. Fabrizio Sestini (TCU): 1-6, 6-1, 2-5, Did not finish
4) David Goulet (TU) def. Jacopo Tezza (TCU): 6-4, 0-6, 6-3
5) Jacobo Hernandez (TU) def. Rafael Abreu (TCU): 6-3, 6-1
6) Alberto Sottocorno (TU) def. Jacob Martin (TCU): 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
