Tulane's Kogan Named C-USA Athlete of the Year
Aug 10, 2004 | Men's Tennis
Aug. 10, 2004
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane's Michael Kogan, the 2004 NCAA singles runner-up and a five-time tennis All-American, has been named the Conference USA Male Athlete of the Year for 2003-04, C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky announced Tuesday. Kogan joined women's basketball All-American Chandi Jones of Houston, the C-USA Female Athlete of the Year, as the first recipients of the award, which are based on athletic achievement and determined by a vote of the league's athletic directors. "I don't know what to say," said Kogan, who graduated from Tulane in May and is breaking into the professional tennis ranks. "There are some great basketball and football players and All-Americans from every sport, in this league, so I think this is definitely one of the biggest awards of my career, to be the Athlete of the Year in Conference USA. I thought I had finished getting awards for my Tulane career, but this is awesome. I hope I have represented Tulane well and that people will remember me in five or six years and down the road." A five-time All-American from Kfar-Saba, Israel, Kogan completed a brilliant Tulane career by winning five straight matches at the NCAA Tournament, including an upset over the No. 5 seed, to advance to the finals of the 2004 NCAA Singles Championship and become the first Tulane athlete to play for the national championship since 1955. Named Conference USA and Louisiana Player of the Year in each of his four seasons at Tulane, Kogan compiled a 22-6 singles and 17-5 doubles record in his senior campaign and completed the year ranked 10th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association (ITA). He was 17-5 in singles versus ranked opponents and lost just two matches from March 9-May 31. Kogan and doubles partner David Goulet were selected to the field of 32 for the 2004 NCAA Doubles Championship, marking Kogan's fourth trip to the NCAA doubles tournament with his third different partner. He and Goulet were undefeated from Feb. 22 until a loss in the NCAA Championship, and finished the year ranked 19th in the country. During his career, Kogan led Tulane to three Conference USA titles and to four straight trips to the NCAA Regionals. The Green Wave advanced through the Regionals to the national tournament's Top 16, in 2003. "In Division I college athletics, there is a great deal of emphasis on football and basketball and that is understandable," said Tulane men's tennis coach Robert Klein. "Winning this award over so many deserving athletes at 14 different schools speaks volumes of Michael's accomplishments. You truly have to stand out to win this award over some terrific student-athletes, but he is certainly deserving of the award and I know it will mean a lot to him. "Michael was the consummate student-athlete and life after Michael Kogan is certainly going to be different," Klein continued. "As a player, he was so reliable. You could always count on him and he made everyone around him better. He was a team leader, a great student and is someone we will hold up as an example to everyone." -- Roll Wave --
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