May 30, 2004

WACO, Texas - By winning his singles semifinal match on Sunday, Benjamin Becker has a chance to win his second national championship in less than a week. He will play for the singles championship of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championsips in Tulsa, Okla., at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on Monday afternoon at 1:00 p.m., against Tulane's Michael Kogan.

For tennis fans that would like to listen to the match over the internet, RadioTennis.com will broadcast, live from Tulsa, the NCAA Men's Singles and Doubles Championships.

The Bears won the team title last Tuesday evening, posting a 4-0 victory over UCLA, giving Baylor its first-ever NCAA team national championship. A win by Becker on Monday would give the Bears their first-ever NCAA singles title as well. BU's Benedikt Dorsch lost in the finals of the NCAA Singles Championships last year.

Becker, ranked No. 15 and winner of 10 consecutive singles matches, defeated Auburn's Gabor Zoltan Pelva in straight sets on Sunday, winning by scores of 6-3, 7-5. Becker will face Kogan, a two set winner in the semifinals. Kogan defeated Franticke Babej of South Alabama with relative ease, 6-1, 6-3. Becker and Kogan have met once before, in the ITA National Indoors when Becker was a freshman. Becker won that matchup 6-3, 7-6.

Singles Semifinal Results
May 30, 2004
Benjamin Becker (9-16), Baylor def. Gabor Zoltan Pelva, Auburn, 6-3, 7-5
Michael Kogan (9-16), Tulane def. Franticek Babej, South Alabama, 6-1, 6-3

When asked about advancing to the finals, Becker replied, "I didn't expect it at all. I'm just very happy to be in the finals. I didn't really have any expectations going into the tournament, and now being in the finals is unbelievable for me."