Tulane University
NCAA Singles Championship
Baylor's Becker Upends Kogan in NCAA Championship
May 31, 2004 | Men's Tennis
May 31, 2004
TULSA, Okla. - With the top 10 ranked players in the nation eliminated prior to the semifinals of the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championship, it should not have been surprising that Tulane's 11th-ranked Michael Kogan would be upended in the finals on Monday afternoon. But that did not lessen the disappointment for Kogan as he fell short in his bid to earn Tulane's first NCAA Championship since 1959.
Kogan was defeated by Baylor's Benjamin Becker, the 15th-ranked player in the country, 4-6, 6-7, with Becker winning in the second-set tiebreaker, 10-8. It was the sixth match for both players at the event, which was played at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center at the University of Tulsa.
"It was a good match, I am just disappointed in the way I played, especially my serve," Kogan said. "I came up with some big shots and I had my opportunities. It is very disappointing. He was just a little better today. I give him a lot of credit for that."
Kogan, who reached the quarterfinals as a freshman, is the four-time Player of the Year in Conference USA and Tulane's all-time leader in victories. This is his third time earning All-America recognition in singles and he is also a two-time Doubles All-American. He was hoping to capture the Green Wave's ninth NCAA Singles Championship. Cliff Sutter (1930, 1932), Ernest Sutter (1936, 1937), Jack Tuero (1949), Ham Richardson (1953, 1954) and Aguero all won titles for the Wave. It would have been Tulane's first NCAA title of any kind since 1959 when the Wave tennis team won the championship and the doubles team of Crawford Henry and Ron Holmberg also captured the national title.
"I had a good week, when you look at my results, I had six good matches," Kogan said. "I just came up one match short. It was a tough match, in tennis, you can't win all the time."
"This means a great deal to Tulane," Green Wave head coach Robert Klein said. "When the team made the Sweet 16 last year, it put us on the map as a team, and now for a individual to make the finals, it brings you more national credibility. It shows that we are playing at the highest level of the game.
From the crowd of nearly 2,000 people watching the match, the cheers of "Green...Wave" were clear throughout the stadium, many from Tulane fans who made the trip to Tulsa just for the final.
"This is a storybook ending for Michael," Klein said. "To make it this far and play in front of a great crowd, in great conditions. It says a lot about the type of person and player Michael is that we had so many supporters from New Orleans here. It speaks highly of the program, that you have the kind of support that we did."
Kogan fell behind 4-2 in the first set, but quickly battled back to knot the score at 4-4. However, Becker held his serve and then broke Kogan for the second time to take the opening set, 6-4.
In the second set, there were nine breaks as both players struggled to hold serve. The two players broke each other's serve to knot the match at 6-6 and force a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, the two traded points and were tied at 4-4 until Kogan delivered a drop volley and Becker pushed a forehand wide to give Kogan a 6-4 edge. Becker fought off set point, Kogan then missed a forehand and a service return to give Becker a 7-6 edge. Becker then hit long and Kogan nailed a backhand volley to go up 8-7. Becker again fought off set point when Kogan missed on service return. Subsequently, Becker hit a winner to go up 9-8. After the two engaged in a long rally, Kogan sailed one long and Becker earned the victory.
"I think it was pretty good tennis out there," Kogan said. "I don't know about Ben, but I think I could have played a little bit better tennis, especially on my service game. I didn't serve as well as I served all week. Maybe it was because he returned really well, and I tried to do too much with my serve, but I definitely had my chances. I had three set points in the second set, and I served twice for the second set. I felt pretty tired in the second set, and that might have been one of the reasons I didn't put that set away. Unfortunately, it was over before I realized it."
"Michael returned Becker's serve better than anyone has all week and that gave him the opportunity to be in the match," Klein said. "I expected that Michael would return well, but on the other side, he didn't serve very well and Becker also returned well.
"We got more aggressive in the second set and that's what paid off," Klein continued. "We were up a break twice, but a couple of unlucky breaks really hurt. I am sure Michael would have liked to have a couple of shots back."
Becker becomes the first Baylor player to win an NCAA Singles Championship. He is the second straight Bear to reach the finals, as well as the second Baylor player ever. Last year, Benedikt Dorsch lost in the finals to Amer Delic of Illinois, 6-4, 6-3. Baylor also captured the NCAA Team Championship this season, defeating UCLA, 4-0.
Monday's match will be televised on the Tennis Channel on a tape delay basis. The first airing will be Saturday, June 5th at 6 p.m. (Central).
