![It was a tough decision, but Robert Klein tabbed Jacobo Hernandez as his MVP for 2005. [File photo by Ned Dishman]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Ftulanegreenwave.com%2Fimages%2F2005%2F6%2F27%2F160336.jpeg&height=300&type=webp)
A Team of MVPs
Jun 27, 2005 | Men's Tennis
June 20, 2005
As the head men's tennis coach at Tulane University, Robert Klein has faced many tough tasks in his 12 years. Whether teaching the game on the court, winning recruiting battles or motivating his club in big matches, Klein, for the most part, faced those challenges on a yearly basis. However, this year, the Wave mentor's most difficult time came in a much different environment.
"The most difficult thing for me this year came when I had to stand up at the banquet and give the MVP award to one player," Klein said. "I was happy to pick Jacobo [Hernandez] because he was the vocal leader on the team this year, but it could have gone to any of the guys. Everybody did great things for us and accepted their role on the team, all the way down to 7, 8, 9, 10."
Using a full team effort, Tulane continued its amazing run of success in 2005. The Green Wave won a school record 22 dual matches, captured its fifth Conference USA Championship overall and its third in a row, while advanced to its ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament.
"I am very pleased, I am proud of this team," Klein said. "Everybody played hard all year for us. We surprised several people around the country. This was probably our best team effort from top-to-bottom for an entire season since I have been here."
Doubles play epitomized the "team-first" attitude of the Green Wave, especially sophomore David Goulet. After pairing with All-American Michael Kogan in 2004 and advancing to the NCAA Doubles Championship, he accepted his position at No. 3 doubles despite having little hope of returning to the national tournament. Meanwhile, senior Dmitriy Koch and sophomore Alberto Sottocorno moved up to the more glamorous No. 1 doubles flight and responded, winning 16 matches and climbing to the No. 27 ranking in the nation to earn a bid to the NCAA Doubles Championship.
"The doubles teams gelled really well," Klein said. "We took two guys and stuck them together at No. 1 and said go do it. They learned to be successful by working together and playing well. The only way for this team to succeed was for us to play together. The selflessness of Goulet in going down to No. 3 without a blink was key. He accepted that it was the best thing for the team."
The Green Wave recognized their full potential in mid-March at the prestigious Blue-Gray Classic. Playing four nationally-ranked teams in four days, the Wave emerged as the tournament champions for the first time in program history.
"The Blue-Gray made us realize that we could play with the top teams in the country," Klein said. "We have a lot of talented guys, but the difference is that we went out and out-competed people; we out-fought them."
While the Blue-Gray was a proud moment for Tulane, the season highlight came at the Conference USA Championship. After cruising past DePaul and USF in the first two rounds, the Wave was matched with host Louisville, which was riding a 42-match home winning streak. After winning the doubles point, Sottocorno, sophomore Ted Angelinos and freshman Jonah Kane-West each posted singles triumphs for a 4-1 Tulane victory.
"I don't think it could have come together any better," Klein said. "We didn't know where the points were coming from, but we knew they were going to come. I was proud of the way Jonah stepped up and became a strong player for us at No. 6. He increased his intensity and developed his game to key our success."
Following the C-USA Championship, Tulane traveled to Baton Rouge for the NCAA Tournament, defeating UL-Lafayette in a hard-fought first round match, 4-2, before falling to LSU in the second round.
Hernandez and Goulet both earned First Team All-Conference USA recognition as Tulane had a record five players honored. Hernandez posted a 16-5 record in singles and teamed with Angelinos for a 19-7 record at No. 2 doubles. Goulet also earned the Conference USA Sportsmanship Award while registering a 17-8 mark in singles and a 15-6 record in doubles with Kane-West.
Koch and Angelinos both earned all-league second team honors. Koch posted double figures in victories while battling injuries and each opponents' top player from the No. 1 position. Angelinos was 15-5 in singles, mainly at No. 3 and No. 4, and 19-7 in doubles. Sottocorno was picked for the league's third team after leading the Wave in singles victories with a 20-3 record, primarily at No. 5. Kane-West finished the spring with a 12-11 record as well as some hardware of his own, as he was named the Louisiana Freshman of the Year.
The main constant in the continued success of the Green Wave has been Klein, who not only collected Conference USA Coach of the Year honors for the fifth time, but was also named the league's Coach of the Decade. As usual, the 12th-year coach was quick to deflect praise.
"We have quality players and a quality assistant coach in Michael Lang," Klein said. "I just try not to get in their way."
With four all-conference players and the top freshman in the state returning, Tulane will go into the 2005-06 with high hopes once again.
"We are losing another great player in Dmitriy," Klein said. "But we have [flights] 2-6 returning, and our backup players also developed this year. This summer we have guys who need to spend time in the weight room, we have guys who need to play and guys who need to become better athletes. And the coaches will look for more great players."
Expect the Tulane team atmosphere to motivate everyone to improve all aspects of their games. And expect Klein to face another tough decision next year with picking his team MVP.
