2008 Woodie Awards
Marist men's tennis team proves itself again, four players advance to tournament sweet sixteen
Nate Fields
Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
A week after its strong performance at the Northeast Invitational in Providence, the Marist men's tennis team again showed why it deserves to play in such tournaments.
In their first trip to the Georgetown University Tennis Classic, the Red Foxes had four players win their day one matches to advance to the "Sweet 16" of the 32-player, flightless tournament.
The weekend failed to end as successfully as it started, but senior Ray Josephs, after losing in the first round on Friday, did manage to capture the backdraw championship.
While none of Marist's singles players advanced past the "Elite 8," head coach Tim Smith saids he feels it is important to note that several Foxes fell in outstanding matches against worthy opponents.
"Pedro [Genovese] lost in three sets to Adam Gross from Georgetown, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Federico [Rolon] played the best match I think, since he's been at Marist," he said. "He lost to Brenden Harris of George Washington, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4."
Smith also noted that Harris had to withdraw from the semifinals on Sunday due to exhaustion from the two and a half hour match with Rolon on Saturday. Harris dropping out marked the second straight weekend a Marist player has forced an opponent out of a tournament due to exhaustion.
Rolon also defeated Georgetown's Etienne Paris 6-4, 6-1. Smith added that he thinks Rolon is "playing the best tennis of his career."
Junior Greg Marks garnered his coach's praise as well, playing well for the second week in a row.
"I think that Greg is playing at an extremely high level," Smith said. "He lost to Mustafa Geno 6-3, 7-5, and Geno went on to win the tournament."
Although Josephs' backdraw championship was the only one the Foxes brought home, the lack of championships was not indicative of how well the team performed in the tournament overall.
Rolon and Genovese represented a fourth of the eight quarterfinal spots available to players from six different schools, significant considering the tournament format. Whereas most tournaments are broken down into flights separating players based on their ranking, the Georgetown Classic was a single draw, with only one singles championship available.
Marist looks to continue its strong play next weekend at the UConn Invitational, and coach Smith has a bright outlook.
"I think we are going to do exceptionally well at the UConn tournament this weekend," he said. "A lot of our guys are starting to peak."
In their first trip to the Georgetown University Tennis Classic, the Red Foxes had four players win their day one matches to advance to the "Sweet 16" of the 32-player, flightless tournament.
The weekend failed to end as successfully as it started, but senior Ray Josephs, after losing in the first round on Friday, did manage to capture the backdraw championship.
While none of Marist's singles players advanced past the "Elite 8," head coach Tim Smith saids he feels it is important to note that several Foxes fell in outstanding matches against worthy opponents.
"Pedro [Genovese] lost in three sets to Adam Gross from Georgetown, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Federico [Rolon] played the best match I think, since he's been at Marist," he said. "He lost to Brenden Harris of George Washington, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4."
Smith also noted that Harris had to withdraw from the semifinals on Sunday due to exhaustion from the two and a half hour match with Rolon on Saturday. Harris dropping out marked the second straight weekend a Marist player has forced an opponent out of a tournament due to exhaustion.
Rolon also defeated Georgetown's Etienne Paris 6-4, 6-1. Smith added that he thinks Rolon is "playing the best tennis of his career."
Junior Greg Marks garnered his coach's praise as well, playing well for the second week in a row.
"I think that Greg is playing at an extremely high level," Smith said. "He lost to Mustafa Geno 6-3, 7-5, and Geno went on to win the tournament."
Although Josephs' backdraw championship was the only one the Foxes brought home, the lack of championships was not indicative of how well the team performed in the tournament overall.
Rolon and Genovese represented a fourth of the eight quarterfinal spots available to players from six different schools, significant considering the tournament format. Whereas most tournaments are broken down into flights separating players based on their ranking, the Georgetown Classic was a single draw, with only one singles championship available.
Marist looks to continue its strong play next weekend at the UConn Invitational, and coach Smith has a bright outlook.
"I think we are going to do exceptionally well at the UConn tournament this weekend," he said. "A lot of our guys are starting to peak."
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