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COACH LEACH ON KUKAL:
"Roman has been solid for us over the last two years. He's the hardest
worker I've ever coached, and I expect him to play some of his best tennis
this year."
1999: Kukal impressed again as a 1999 sophomore and was named an All-American in doubles with Patrick Gottesleben ... He made the 1999 All-Pac-10 honorable mention team ... In singles, Kukal went 22-13 (second on the team in wins) and 15-9 in dual matches ... He played mostly at No. 2 (6-1) and No. 3 (8-6) on the ladder ... He ended the season ranked No. 90 nationally after starting the season at No. 88 ... In January, he reached the final of the NCTC Tournament ... In doubles, Kukal went 22-15 overall and 13-11 in duals ... He and Gottesleben went 16-9 overall and 13-8 in duals and had a final national ranking of No. 20 ... The pair reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships, defeating Ronald Kloppert and Robert Samuelsson of Tulane, Jason Cook and Brandon Kramer of UCLA and Kelly Gullett and John Hui of Pepperdine before losing to Nenad Toroman and Goseth Williams of Tulsa ... He and Ryan Moore reached the SCTA Tournament doubles final and the ITA Regional semifinals in the fall ...
1998: Kukal -- who joined the Trojans in January of 1998 -- made an immediate impact as a freshman by moving directly into the lineup and compiling an 11-11 overall record (10-10 in duals) ... In only his fourth collegiate match, his victory over UCLA's Alex Decret clinched the Trojans' first victory over the Bruins since 1994 ... Kukal teamed with Fernando Samayoa in doubles and the duo went 15-2 ... The pair saw extensive time at both the No. 2 and No. 3 positions and had a 13-match winning streak before losing at the Pac-10 Championships ... Overall, Kukal was 16-3 in doubles.
PREP EXPERIENCE: Roman was No. 4 in the world in the International Tennis Federation junior doubles rankings ... He was No. 8 in singles ... His highest ranking in the men's ATP singles poll was No. 400 ... He reached the finals of the 1994 Australian Open Juniors tournament ... He attended the Gymnasium Metodova in Slovakia.
PERSONAL: Kukal's father, Jan, played 10 years for the Czechoslovakian Davis Cup team ... He enjoys listening to music and reading in his spare time ... His last name is pronounced "ku-KULL".
