April 12, 2008

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.-- On a perfect Saturday afternoon, the Marist men's tennis team stayed perfect in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with a 5-2 win over Niagara. Niagara and Marist came into the match tied for first in the MAAC standings at 5-0, but now the Red Foxes are alone at the top. Marist (9-4, 6-0 MAAC) has won six in a row.

Walter Garcia defeated Christian Coley (Glastonbury, Conn.) 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 in a tight first singles match for one of the Purple Eagles' two points. Niagara earned their other point by winning two of the three doubles matches.

Sophomore Marcus von Nordheim (Munich, Germany) continued his strong play with a 6-3, 7-6 (7) victory over Roman Silin in third singles, and fellow freshman Nicolas Pisecky (Lausanne, Switzerland) took his fourth singles match 6-1, 6-1 over Colin Laffey.

Senior Greg Marks won his eighth consecutive match 6-2, 7-6 (6) in fifth singles over Marc Dickinson, and freshman Landon Greene (Palos Verde, Calif.) beat Nick Bolea 6-1, 6-4 in sixth singles.

Marist will host Hofstra on Tuesday evening on `Community Night.' Fans are encouraged to come out and support the Red Foxes as they try to win their seventh straight match. Before the match, Red Foxes' senior captain Greg Marks will be honored as it is `Senior Night' as well.

The Red Foxes match with St. Peter's was postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date.

Results

Singles
Garcia (N) def Coley (M) 6-2, 0-6, 6-4
Sessagesimi (M) def. Abji (N) 6-0, 7-6 (8-6)
von Nordheim (M) def. Silin (N) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
Pisecky (M) def. Laffey (N) 6-1, 6-1
Marks (M) def. Dickinson (N) 6-2, 7-6
Greene (M) def. Bolea (N) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles
Silin/Laffey (N) def. Coley/Pisecky (M) 8-6
Garcia/Abji (N) def. Sessagesimi/Marks (M) 8-2
von Nordheim/Greene (M) def. Laffey/Kopf (N) 8-6

Final Score
Marist 5, Niagara 2