March 28, 2008

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Marist men's tennis team fell to Army 5-2 on Friday in a match that lasted more than four hours. Marist (4-4) dropped four of the six singles matches, and three of the four losses were in three sets. The Red Foxes dropped all three doubles matches.

Nicolas Pisecky (Lausanne, Switzerland) and Greg Marks (Newburgh, N.Y.) got the wins for Marist. Pisecky won a thriller over Trip Johnson 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 in fourth singles and Marks beat Jordan Girdley 6-3, 6-4.

Christian Coley (Glastonbury, Conn.), Marcus von Nordheim (Munich, Germany), and Peter Luck (Goshen, N.Y.) all lost in three sets.

"It was a battle today," Marist head coach Tim Smith said. "Even though the score doesn't show it, we played really well. Every single match was well played."

In first doubles, Coley and Pisecky lost a tight match to Eddie Kang and Phil Muhaw, 8-6.

Army, of the Patriot League, has been at the top of their conference for the past five years. Eddie Kang became the third player in Army history to reach 60 career wins tonight.

Marist hosts St. John's of the Big East on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Results
Doubles
Eddie Kang/Phil Muhawi (A) def. Christian Coley/Nicolas Pisecky: 8-6
Jordan Girdley/Johnny Lucero (A) def. Loic Sessahesimi/Gregory Marks: 8-4
Sean Harris/Tripp Johnson (A) def. Marcus Von Nordheim/Landon Greene: 8-5

Singles
Phil Muhawi (A) def. Christian Coley: 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Eddie Kang (A) def. Lois Sessagesimi: 6-4, 7-5
Sean Harris (A) def. Marcus von Nordheim: 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
Nicolas Pisecky (M) def. Tripp Johnson: 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
Gregory Marks (M) def. Jordan Girdley: 6-3, 6-4
Bruno Lucivero (A) def. Peter Luck: 6-7 (7-4), 6-0, 6-3

Final Score
Army 5, Marist 2