OXFORD, Miss. - The Marist men's tennis team was defeated 4-0 by #5 Mississippi on Saturday afternoon in Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss, the champs of the SEC, won the doubles point and got wins at six, second, and third singles for the 4-0 win. Marist's second doubles pair Greg Marks (Newburgh, N.Y.) and Loic Sessagesimi (La Tour-de-Peliz, Switzerland) were tied 6-6 with Matthias Wellermann and Bram ten Berg, the 20th ranked pair in the country, when their match was suspended.
Jonas Berg and Erling Tveit defeated Nicolas Pisecky (Laussane, Switzerland) and Jack Famiglio (Weston, Fla.) 8-1 in first singles. Famiglio was playing in the place of Christian Coley (Cheshire, Conn.) who did not play because of a team rules violation.
Marks and Sessagesmi had Berg and Wellermann on the brink before their match was stopped. In all NCAA Tournament matches, when the doubles point or match as a whole is clinched, all other matches in progress are stopped by rule.
"The NCAA needs to realize that college athletics is all about participation and competition. They really should let all players finish their matches regardless of the outcome," Marist Head Coach Tim Smith said. "It was a great opportunity for a couple of our players to get a memorable win, and they weren't allowed to continue."
In third doubles Jakob Klaeson and Tucker Vorster defeated Marcus von Nordheim (Munich, Germany) and Landon Greene (Palos Verde, Calif.) 8-2.
The three singles matches that were completed for Ole Miss points were at the sixth, second and third slots. Berg defeated Antonio Oliver (Madrid, Spain) 6-1, 6-0. Wellermann took von Nordheim 6-3, 6-0 in second singles, and Pisecky dropped his third singles match 6-0, 6-0 to Robbye Poole.
Sessagesimi was trailing 6-0, 5-0 to Tveit in first singles before his match was stopped, and Berg was leading Marks 6-2, 2-1 in fourth singles. Kalle Norberg was ahead of Greene 6-2, 4-2 in sixth singles.
"I was happy with the way my guys competed," said Smith. "We won some games and competed throughout. It was a great experience."
Marist finishes the season at 14-5 overall and a sixth MAAC Title, and senior Greg Marks graduates having won 13 of his last 14 collegiate matches.
