POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. ? The Marist men’s tennis team will make its seventh NCAA Team Tournament appearance on Friday, May 8, as they take on the #10 Florida Gators in the opening round in Gainesville, Fla. Marist finished the regular season with a dual match record of 12-3 overall and 5-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The squad defeated Fairfield in the MAAC Championship match 5-2 on April 19 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
The Red Foxes enter the NCAA Tournament as winners in their last six matches, and nine of their last 10. Sophomore Landon Greene (Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Matt Himmelsbach (Longmeadow, Mass.) concluded the regular season tied for the team lead in singles wins with 26 a piece. After the MAAC Championship victory, junior co-captain Loic Sessagesimi (Blonay, Switzerland) was named the MAAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Performer.
Florida enters the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 17-8, and most recently lost in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) semifinals to #2 Mississippi State, 4-0 on April 20. The Gators are led by freshman Joey Burkhardt who has a record of 26-12 and 14-7 in dual matches. Burkhardt played fourth singles and first doubles in the Gators’ last match. Three players are in the top-100 in the country: Carlos Cueto is ranked no. 21, Alex Lacrois is ranked no. 32 and Tyler Hochwalt is ranked no. 92.
The Red Foxes’ head coach Tim Smith said his team is excited about the chance to play at the University of Florida.
“Our kids are excited about going to the University of Florida and I like their tennis facility, which I have been to,” he said. “Maybe it is an omen that one of the hosts (J.W. Stewart, ?93) from the selection show is from Poughkeepsie.”
Marist and Florida will meet for the first time in the programs’ history in Gainesville, Fla. on May 8, 2009.