Marist Director of Tennis Deepak Sharma, along with Assistant Coach Roge Nesbitt, are “no longer employed” by Marist, according to a statement from Marist Athletics sent to Center Field yesterday.
Sharma received a promotion as director of the tennis program in the 2023 offseason after serving as an assistant under former director Gary Sussman. He had previous collegiate experience as assistant and later interim head coach of Fordham’s tennis program in 2022.
As for Nesbitt, this was her second stint coaching with Marist; the assistant coach previously served as women’s head coach from 2007-13 while amassing four MAAC championships. She later became the head men’s and women’s coach of Bard College in 2019 before taking a job assisting Sharma in January of 2023.
Under Sharma in 2023-24, the men’s team posted an overall record of 8-14, going 4-2 in conference. Four players represented the school with All-MAAC honors, including two All-MAAC First Teamers (sophomore Alex Thompson and junior Tomas Gomez) and two All-MAAC Second Teamers (freshman Jose Catala, sophomore Nick Suhanitski). Qualifying for the No. 3 seed in the MAAC Championship in 2024, the men’s team lost to No. 2 Quinnipiac in the semifinals by a score of 4-3.
The women’s team did not mirror much success under Sharma, going 2-22 last season with an 0-6 conference record. Freshman Catelina Assi represented the team’s sole postseason award winner as 2024 MAAC rookie of the year.
According to the statement, Marist Associate Athletic Director Elizabeth Donahue “is leading a national search” for the next director of tennis at Marist.
“To support our student-athletes, our goal is to have this position filled by the beginning of the upcoming school year,” said Marist Athletics in the statement.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Photo Credit: Marist Athletics
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