Tulane University
Final Round
Dominik Koepfer Falls in Championship Final
Oct 12, 2015 | Men's Tennis
Box Score | All American Championships Box
TULSA, Okla. -- Tulane men's tennis standout Dominik Koepfer fell just shy of reaching his goal of a national championship on Monday morning, suffering a 6-0, 6-2 lost in Monday's ITA All-American Championships final to Virginia's Thai-Son Kwiatkowski. Koepfer's runner-up finish marked the longest run of his collegiate career.
Today's final pitted two top-10 preseason national ranked opponents against each other in No. 8 Kwiatkowski and No. 10 Koepfer, both the No. 3 and 4 seeds respectively in the tournament.
Kwiatkowski jumped on Koepfer early, claiming the first nine games of the match, but partially thanks to unforced errors by Koepfer, as the Green Wave senior committed 21 unforced errors throughout the match.
"Tough day today for Dominik, but all in all a great run to get to the final," Tulane head coach Mark Booras. "We're so proud of how Dom competes for Tulane and represents us on and off the court. It's pretty special to have an opportunity to compete for a national championship. Two years ago I think he lost first round of pre-qualifying, three years ago he couldn't even play it, and this year he played for the title. That's one heck of a jump and a testament to how hard he has worked since he got to Tulane."
Koepfer became the first Green Wave in program history to reach a final at the All-American Championships. In fact, the senior has now reached at least the semifinal round in three of the past four major national championships, something only Virginia's Kwiatkowski could also claim. Furthermore, in Koepfer's journey to the final, the Germany native knocked of the No. 22, No. 25, No. 38 and No. 51 ranked players.
"Hats off to Thai for playing a very solid match," Booras added. "He gave us no breathing room by getting such a clean start and making us earn everything. You could tell by the stats that Dom's nerves got the best of him in the first nine games having so many unforced errors. When you mix that with a solid opponent, who's making you earn every point, you're making even more pressure for yourself that makes for a tough hill to climb."
All-American Championship Results
Singles Main Draw
Final: No. 3 seeded Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA) def. No. 4 seeded Dominik Koepfer (TU), 6-0, 6-2
Players Mentioned
