2008 Woodie Awards
Smith's Tennis shakeup yields results
Casey Lane
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Sports
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With only one tournament remaining in the fall portion of the men's tennis teams season, head coach Tim Smith decided to shake up his roster. All three of his doubles teams were remade, with the intention of seeing improved play by the time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play started. Smith's foresight yielded immediate results.
As both teams in the Flight B doubles finals were from Marist, the Red Foxes were guaranteed the championship at the Big Green Invitational at Dartmouth College. Antonio Oliver and Loic Sessagesimi defeated teammates Christain Coley and Peter Luck 10-8. The match was closely played and could have gone either way.
It didn't take long for Smith to see the improvements in doubles play that he desired.
"I did see immediate results, I definitely did," said Smith. "I felt that the chemistry with those teams was the best chemistry we've had the whole year. The guys felt good about it, too."
Smith's team also excelled at individual play. For the second straight week, the Red Foxes took home an individual title, as Landon Greene defeated Brett Hartwick from Harvard 5-7, 7-6, 10-3 in the Flight B singles finals.
Perhaps the most impressive player over the weekend was Nicolas Pisecky. As a freshman, Pisecky had been playing in the B flights to get acclimated to the college game. He made the jump to the A flight for the first time and played well.
"He's played very well the last couple of tournaments," Smith said of Pisecky, "so I said, "How do you feel about playing up?' and he said, "I feel good about it.' He answered the bell."
On Saturday, Pisecky dominated Ilya Trdov from Princeton 6-0, 6-1. He then held on to defeat Matt Prosack of St. Joseph's 6-1, 4-6, 10-3.
"Nicolas had two very good wins against ivy league schools, which we're very happy with," said a proud Smith.
The fall portion of a tennis season is used for coaches to decide which players will start in the top six during conference play. For the players, it is a time to prove they deserve to play each week.
As both teams in the Flight B doubles finals were from Marist, the Red Foxes were guaranteed the championship at the Big Green Invitational at Dartmouth College. Antonio Oliver and Loic Sessagesimi defeated teammates Christain Coley and Peter Luck 10-8. The match was closely played and could have gone either way.
It didn't take long for Smith to see the improvements in doubles play that he desired.
"I did see immediate results, I definitely did," said Smith. "I felt that the chemistry with those teams was the best chemistry we've had the whole year. The guys felt good about it, too."
Smith's team also excelled at individual play. For the second straight week, the Red Foxes took home an individual title, as Landon Greene defeated Brett Hartwick from Harvard 5-7, 7-6, 10-3 in the Flight B singles finals.
Perhaps the most impressive player over the weekend was Nicolas Pisecky. As a freshman, Pisecky had been playing in the B flights to get acclimated to the college game. He made the jump to the A flight for the first time and played well.
"He's played very well the last couple of tournaments," Smith said of Pisecky, "so I said, "How do you feel about playing up?' and he said, "I feel good about it.' He answered the bell."
On Saturday, Pisecky dominated Ilya Trdov from Princeton 6-0, 6-1. He then held on to defeat Matt Prosack of St. Joseph's 6-1, 4-6, 10-3.
"Nicolas had two very good wins against ivy league schools, which we're very happy with," said a proud Smith.
The fall portion of a tennis season is used for coaches to decide which players will start in the top six during conference play. For the players, it is a time to prove they deserve to play each week.
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