Tulane University
ITA National Indoor Championships
Koepfer Wins National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship Title
Nov 15, 2015 | Men's Tennis
| 
FLUSHING, N.Y. - After reaching the semifinals of the Oracle Master's Tournament and the final of the ITA All-American Championships this fall, Tulane men's tennis' Dominik Koepfer finally achieved that final step, winning the National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships on Sunday morning. The No. 10 preseason ranked Koepfer defeated No. 22 Andre Goransson of California, 6-1, 7-5.
The Green Wave senior becomes the first player in program history to win a National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship and the first to win a national tournament singles championship since 1955, when Jose Aguero won the NCAA Singles title.
"In the last final I was in at Tulsa (for All-Americans), I had a lot of negative self-talking and this time I just kept it together, played my game and remained focused on every point," Koepfer stated.
Koepfer could do no wrong in the opening set, rolling out to a 5-0 lead before taking the first set, 6-1. In the second set, Koepfer and Goransson battled back-and-forth, each holding serve all the way to a 5-5 tie. Then, Koepfer earned one of the biggest breaks of his career, going up 6-5, before securing the 7-5 clincher on serve.
Koepfer's dominant path to a national championship went through some of the top players in the country, as the senior knocked off No. 29 Chris Diaz of Ohio State, Skander Mansouri of Wake Forest, No. 12 Jared Hiltzik of Illinois, No. 70 Joao Monteiro of Virginia Tech and now No. 22 Andre Goransson. In addition, he beat all five tournament opponents in straight sets.
"Words cannot express how proud I am of Dominik and how happy I am for him," Tulane head coach Mark Booras said. "He has worked relentlessly since he got here to develop more and more each year. He has seen some ups and downs, been with our team through some tough times and helped lead us to where we are now."
The National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships conclude fall tournament play as Koepfer and the rest of the Green Wave will now have some time off before opening spring dual play with a home doubleheader on Jan. 16. In addition, on January 5, Koepfer will see what his new singles ranking will be as the ITA releases its first 2016 national team, singles and doubles rankings.
"Dominik has had some great accolades in his first few years and now he can add national champion to his resume," Booras added. "It'll be pretty cool that he'll be able to put his name alongside the other Tulane tennis singles national champions: the Sutter's, Jack Tuero, Hamilton Richardson and Jose Aguero. It only took about 60 years but it's well worth the wait."
Players Mentioned
