Tulane University
ITA All-American Main Draw
Koepfer's Run Ends in Quarterfinals at ITA All-American
Oct 4, 2014 | Men's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. - After reaching the quarterfinals with an early Saturday victory, Tulane men's tennis junior Dominik Koepfer was not able to keep his magical run going at the 2014 ITA All-American Main Draw and fell in his second match of the day at the outdoor courts of Tulsa University's Case Tennis Center.
"Wow. What an awesome run and fantastic tournament for Dominik," Tulane head coach Mark Booras said. "I am so proud of him. To make the quarter finals of a National Championship is very special, and by doing it the way he did, going through three rounds of qualies to get here, makes it all the more impressive."
Koepfer defeated 40th-ranked Andrew Harris of Oklahoma, 7-5, 6-3, on Saturday morning in the third round, but then had to turn right around and face 110th-ranked Sebastian Stiefelmeyer of Louisville in quarterfinal action. Koepfer started off well by winning the first set, 6-4, but was not able to keep the momentum going and dropped the last two sets, 6-3, 6-2, to end his run.
"Even though he lost, Dominik really played a great match this afternoon," Booras said. "I have to take my hat off to his opponent, who played so well and never let up even after Dominik got up a set and a break of serve in the second set. Stiefelmeyer was able to adjust his game just enough to cause us some problems, square the match up, and get him back up early in the third set. Dominik kept on hanging in there though, earning four or five break point opportunities in the third set to try to even it up, but they just didn't fall his way this time."
The ITA All-American is a national championship and is the first leg of the collegiate grand slam, which is made up of the top 64 players in the nation.
This quarterfinal result automatically qualifies Koepfer for the second leg of the ITA grand slam, the National Indoors, which takes place in New York City in November.
"This result is great for so many aspects of what we are building here at Tulane," Booras added. "Not the least of which, it shows our guys how hard work, belief in yourself and belief in our system really does pay off. Dominik has worked his tail off for the last couple of years to develop his game and reaped some of the fruits this week. What's most encouraging to me is after the match one of the first things he said to me was what he wanted to work on when we get back so he could win this type of match next time. This type of attitude is contagious, and our other guys have it as well. So we need to keep on working hard and believing in ourselves, so we will continue to see growth and success individually and as a team."
Koepfer and the rest of the Green Wave squad will return to the courts for the ITA Southern Regional held in Auburn, Alabama, on Oct. 16-20.
Players Mentioned
