![Head coach Robert Klein thanks his players and supporters for the great memories he had with the Green Wave tennis program. [File photo by Ned Dishman]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Ftulanegreenwave.com%2Fimages%2F2006%2F4%2F5%2F181133.jpeg&height=300&type=webp)
Farewell Letter from Tulane Men's Tennis Coach Robert Klein
Apr 5, 2006 | Men's Tennis
April 5, 2006
Dear Men's Tennis Alumni and Supporters,
My best wishes to you and your families!
As you are aware the men's tennis team is not competing this spring. First, I want you to know that I support the players' decision 100 percent.
The team will take a redshirt year and then explore transfer options with other universities for August. The discontinuation of the men's tennis program effective Aug. 1, 2006 started the wheels in motion. Each team member is more marketable to another university with an additional year of eligibility. To play this season would have diminished each member's "transfer value." The decision they reached was not an easy one. They are a close knit team with great team unity and spirit. Their passion to play with each other and for the TRADITION OF TULANE TENNIS loomed very large.
After the fate of Tulane Tennis was announced on Dec. 8th, I found myself in unfamiliar territory. For the first time in my coaching career, I explained to the team that each member had to do what was in his best interest without regard to Tulane University and the tennis program. Tulane has suspended men's tennis and other athletic programs for a period of five years. Assistant coach Michael Lang completed his MBA and started a new career in real estate development with a firm in Baton Rouge. I had hoped to turn over the program's keys to Coach Lang in the near future. He had done a remarkable job in two years and our team's success was due in large part to his efforts.
Coach Lang sat courtside with Michael Kogan not many months ago in a quest for Tulane first NCAA National Championship in many years. One week in Tulsa seemed like a month, but what a great month it was! Brett Schwartz and Ernesto Ponce contributed more than anyone will know to the success the teams have had the past thirteen years. Volunteer assistant coaches Jack Brasington, Roger Anderson, Owe Pipkorn also gave so much to help build Tulane Men's Tennis.
Robert Samuelsson's, a recent first time father, acceptance into the Tulane Hall of Fame was a fitting tribute to his record breaking contributions.
Michael Kogan's four years of excellence was nothing short of incredible. His efforts, allowed the nation to see what the "love of a tennis," daily commitment and a passion for winning can do for a program. Victor Romero, a recent newlywed, let the racket speak for him! Truly a team player, he was the rock for three seasons at Tulane. Mikko Viljanen's smile lit up the tennis center when he clinched the C-USA Championship in 2001. It is only fitting that these four, join the great Tulanians of the past as All-Americans.
Thank you for supporting the program the past thirteen years. I ask you to continue to support this year's team as they move forward. Your kind letters and emails to me along with words of encouragement to the players made an emphatic difference. My thanks is extended to all alumnus who attended the team's matches whether in New Orleans or on the road. It was great to see several of you attend the reunion only two years ago.
A special note of gratitude for Ham Richardson and what he has given back to Tulane men's tennis. Ham's appearance at the team's match vs. Pepperdine two years ago seems as if it was yesterday. It was a very special weekend for our young men. Ham's involvement with endowment campaign was nothing less than remarkable. His attention to Tulane men's tennis in recent years has been as remarkable as his presence at Tulane not very long ago.
The support of Bill Goldring and the Goldring Foundation were the catalyst that made the building of a program possible. His involvement was paramount to my thirteen-year run and I suspect will be called upon again in another five years. The Goldring Tennis Center put on some great athletic shows in recent years.
This group of young men represented themselves, their coaches, the athletic department, alumni, and their university with great passion. They bled Green and Blue. During this Fall semester, I saw a more profound change in individuals and a stronger resolve in this team than ever before. They accepted the role as "TORCH BEARERS" that President Cowen assigned to the student-athletes. I pray that Tulane will reinstate the program at the Division I level in five year with a full complement of athletic scholarships. Tulane men's tennis will need your support again at that time.
The Tulane Men had received a top 20 position in the ITA Preseason rankings. Every member of the current team is a Conference USA Champion. Every team member has experienced playing in the NCAA Championships and being a Blue-Gray National Invitational Champion. I trust that these are only a few of the great athletic memories these young men have experienced at Tulane. They can look back and reflect on the incredibly positive impact they made on Tulane Tennis for many years to come. They played with the passion that would make even the slightest fan incredibly proud.
To the alumni who were members of my teams at Tulane, I share a few thoughts. You have made the past thirteen years, the best time of my life. The memories are too numerous and special to begin. From my first year to my last it has been a great ride. I will forever miss not seeing you in my office, running the track at 7 a.m., yelling at you during practice, watching you fight with your heart and body during a match, helping a young child with their tennis game or cheering them up at the hospital. You have held many trophies during your times at Tulane. You have left me the trophy of having an incredible opportunity to be a part of your lives, more fun, accomplishments and great times than many experience in a lifetime.
Please keep the city of New Orleans in your prayers. The spirit of New Orleanians never ceases to amaze me. The spirit for life is alive in New Orleans. My time in the Big Easy is quickly winding down. I now hope that my wife Cathy has the patience of Job as we start our life all over again in The Woodlands, Texas, some thirty miles north of Houston. Our new best friend, NOLA, a Cafe Au'Lait colored labradoodle, is a constant reminder how exciting life was as the Tulane Men's Tennis Coach in New Orleans, La. You can continue to reach me at rklein@tulane.edu through the end of this academic year. Our phone number in the The Woodlands, TX is 936-271-4236.
Roll Wave,
Robert Klein
Players Mentioned
