Defending champion and top-seed Tulane defeated Louisville 4-1 in the championship match of the 2005 Conference USA Men’s Tennis Championship on Sunday at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The No. 19 Green Wave snapped the Cardinals’ 42-match win streak at home.

“I’m very excited. The feeling is amazing to win it three times in a row,” said Tulane senior Dmitriy Koch. “Winning this conference is something special.”

Koch and teammate Alberto Sottocorno, the No. 35 doubles team, clinched the doubles point at the No. 1 spot with a 9-8 (7-2) win over No. 49 Jeremy Clark and Jakob Gustafsson. Tulane posted the first win in doubles play at No. 2 as Ted Angelinos and Jacobo Hernandez beat Louisville’s Slavko Radman and Jhonny Berrido, 8-5. The Cards Damar Johnson and Mark Kennedy posted a 9-8 decision over David Goulet and Jonah Kane-West of Tulane.

In singles, No. 75 Johnson put another point on the board for Louisville with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Koch. Tulane responded with three wins, including the match-clincher at No. 5 as Sottocorno edged Clark, 7-5, 7-6(2). Kane-West defeated U of L’s Berrido, 6-1, 7-5 at No. 4, while Angelinos beat Gustafsson at No. 3, 6-4, 6-2.

Tulane head coach Robert Klein, recently voted C-USA Coach of the Decade, directed the Wave to its eighth appearance in the C-USA men’s tennis championship finals and sixth title overall.

“This might be the sweetest one of all,” said Klein.

Tulane (21-5) has tied the school's single-season record for victories and has earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.

The championship match returned outside, but was played in temperatures hovering near 50 degrees with winds steady at about 15 miles per hour.

Match Summary – Tulane 4, Louisville 1
Singles
1. Damar Johnson, LOU def. Dmitriy Koch, TUL 6-4, 6-1
2. David Goulet, TUL vs. Slavko Radman, LOU 6-2, 2-6, 3-5 susp.
3. Ted Angelinos, TUL def. Jakob Gustafsson, LOU 6-4, 6-2
4. Jacobo Hernandez, TUL vs. Octavian Nicodim, LOU 6-0, 5-4 susp.
5. Alberto Sottocorno, TUL def. Jeremy Clark, LOU 7-5, 7-6 (2)
6. Jonah Kane-West, TUL def. Jhonny Berrido, LOU 6-1, 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 6, 3, 5

Doubles
1. Koch/Sottocorno, TUL def. Gustafsson/Clark, LOU 9-8 (7-2)
2. Angelinos/Hernandez, TUL def. Radman/Berrido, LOU 8-5
3. Johnson/Kennedy, LOU def. Goulet/Kane-West, TUL 9-8
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1


2005 C-USA Men’s Tennis Championship Results

Thursday, April 21
(8) Southern Miss def. (9) Charlotte, 4-1
(5) UAB def. (12) Saint Louis, 4-0
(6) USF def. (11) Marquette, 4-0
(7) DePaul def. (10) East Carolina, 4-1

Friday, April 22
(3) Louisville def. UAB 0, 5-0
(2) TCU def. Southern Miss, 4-0
(1) Tulane def. DePaul, 4-0
USF def. (4) Memphis, 4-1

Ninth Place Consolation
Charlotte 4, Saint Louis 0
East Carolina 4, Marquette 1

Saturday, April 23
Semifinal 1 - Louisville def. TCU, 4-2
Semifinal 2 - Tulane def. USF, 4-1

Ninth Place Match,
Charlotte def. East Carolina, 4-1

Sunday, April 24
Championship Match - Tulane def. Louisville, 4-1