April 24, 2010
Complete Results
FLUSHING, N.Y. – The Marist men's tennis team earned its place in its 11th straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament finals after a 4-0 win over Loyola on Saturday in the semis. The victory marks the 10th consecutive win for Marist, with the last six coming via a shutout. Sophomore Matt Himmelsbach (Longmeadow, Mass.) netted the clinching point at fourth singles. It was his 25th win of the season.
The Red Foxes began the morning match with a sweep in the doubles as the squad won all three matches to take a 1-0 lead in the team score. Junior Landon Greene (Palos Verdes, Calif.) and freshman Joris Van Eck (Ospel, Netherlands) defeated J. Pierce Norton and Keyan Sanai, 8-6. Marist also got wins from senior Christian Coley (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Himmelsbach at second doubles. The pair from Marist bested Kevin Zingler and Dan D'Agostino by a score of 8-5. Junior Nicolas Pisecky (Lausanne, Switzerland) and senior Loic Sessagesimi (Blonay, Switzerland) won by five games at third doubles, and 8-3 win over Matt McDaniel and Bobby Gorczakowski.
Pisecky was the first singles match which was won at third singles. He bested Zingler 6-2, 6-1 for his sixth straight win this season.
At sixth singles, junior Marcus von Nordheim (Munich, Germany) netted a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jamie Russo. It was the seventh victory for von Nordheim at sixth singles and 20th overall during the 2009-10 season.
The match was concluded when Himmelsbach notched Marist's fourth point of the day in a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over McDaniel. Himmelsbach leads the team in victories with 25.
Upon the fourth and decisive point being tallied, the match was halted per NCAA rules.
“This is certainly a positive step forward having the opportunity to play in the finals,” head coach Tim Smith said. “Now we just have to put the roof on the house.”
Marist will meet Fairfield for the third straight season in the MAAC Finals. The Red Foxes have won each of the last two seasons. First serves are scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center. In the event of inclement weather, Saint Peter's College will serve as the rain site. Log on to www.MAACSports.com for the most up-to-date information on the championship.
