UCLA'S KOHLLOEFFEL WINS MEN'S SINGLES CROWN USC'S NELSON, PEPPERDINE TEAM FALL SHORT.Byline: Staff and Wire Services STANFORD -- UCLA's Ben Kohlloeffel completed a dominant run through the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association draw Monday, sweeping Virginia's Somdev Devvarman Somdev Devvarman (also known as Somdev Dev Varman) is the current (2007) NCAA Men's Singles Champion. He is an amateur tennis player from India. He is best known for having captured the 2007 NCAA Singles Championship, defeating Georgia Bulldogs senior John Isner to claim the Bruins' first men's singles title in 31 years. Kohlloeffel, the top seed, broke Devvarman twice in the first set en route to a 6-1, 6-4 triumph in the final at Stanford's Taube Tennis Center The Taube Tennis Center is a tennis facility located on the campus of Stanford University near Palo Alto, California. In addition to hosting the Stanford Cardinal's men's and women's tennis teams, the 17-court facility is the home of the Bank of the West Classic, a WTA Tour event. . The German standout, a junior, is the 10th UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX player to win the title but the first since Billy Martin, the Bruins' coach, in 1975. USC's Lindsey Nelson Lindsey Nelson (May 25, 1919 - June 10, 1995) was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of college football and New York Mets baseball. Early life and career , a surprise finalist who beat top-seeded Audra Cohen Audra Marie Cohen (b. April 21, 1986, in California) is a right-handed American 5' 9" professional tennis player with a two-handed backhand, living in Plantation, Florida, who was the # 1 collegiate female tennis player in the United States in 2007. of Miami in the round of 16, lost 6-4, 6-1 to Cal's Suzi Babos in the women's singles final. Pepperdine's Andre Begemann and Scott Doerner fell 6-2, 6-4 to Illinois' Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe in the men's doubles final. Kohlloeffel lost just one set in six matches in the 64-player tournament, and his quarterfinal sweep of Cal's Conor Niland -- winner in the twoprevious meetings this season -- was pivotal in his title run. ``I knew from the quarters on, the draw was open for me to win it,'' said Kohlloeffel, who finished 47-4 this season with titles at the National Collegiate Classic, ITA ITA abbr. initial teaching alphabet ITA initial teaching alphabet: a partly phonetic alphabet used to teach reading ITA n abbr (BRIT) (= initial teaching alphabet) → National Collegiate Indoor Championship and ITA West-South Regional Championship. ``Once you have that thought in your head, it's sort of different. You realize you can win it, and that's what happened.'' Kohlloeffel, who helped UCLA win the NCAA team title last year, joined a list of NCAA champions that includes UCLA's Arthur Ashe Noun 1. Arthur Ashe - United States tennis player who was the first Black to win United States and English singles championships (1943-1993) Arthur Robert Ashe, Ashe and Jimmy Connors, Stanford's John McEnroe and Bob Bryan, and USC's Stan Smith and Bob Lutz. ``It's a great achievement to be on the same list with all those names,'' Kohlloeffel said. ``I'm so happy to be one of them. I'm really proud of that.'' Martin, whose 1975 title was the fifth in 11 years and seventh in 16years won by Bruins, prodded Kohlloeffel to focus on the singles competition. ``I told him to start making his top priority to win the singles title,'' Martin said. ``I always wanted him focused on that. He did an incredible job for the team ... but I didn't think the team title was viable for us this year.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Ben Kohlloeffel is the first UCLA men's tennis singles champion in 31 years, and its 10th overall. Tony Avelar/Associated Press |
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