JMU Battles for 4-2 Win Over Morehead State

Saturday, January 24

Lynchburg, Va.

10 a.m.

James Madison University

Morehead State

1/24/2015 4:18:00 PM | Men's Tennis

LYNCHBURG, Va. – James Madison men's tennis battled for the 4-2 neutral-court victory over Morehead State on Saturday morning at the Sports Racket in Lynchburg, Va. The Dukes (2-3, 1-0), knotted 2-2 with the Eagles (0-2), won two straight singles matches to close out the win.

Junior Maxi Branth (Stockholm, Sweden/Tullinge Gymnasium) posted a come-from-behind win over Nick Mercer at No. 4 singles to break the 2-2 tie and give the Dukes a 3-2 lead. After falling to Mercer 6-3 in set one, Branth posted a 6-4 win in set two and a 6-1 win in set three to take the point.

Freshman Stephen Goldman (Lutz, Fla./Gaither) clinched the JMU victory by sweeping Jose Zurro 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles.

The Dukes kicked off Saturday's action with a doubles win, taking two of the three doubles matches. Goldman and sophomore Brett Moorhead (Midlothian, Va./Cosby) opened by defeating Zurro and Enrique Samudio 6-3 at No. 3 doubles to give JMU a 1-0 advantage towards the point. The Eagles, however, knotted doubles play at 1-all when Ritchie Kruunenberg and Gabriel Ruiz won 6-2 over sophomores Sebastian Salinas (Merida, Mexico/Preparatoria Abierta SEP) and Miljan Ruzic (Sydney, Australia/St. Euphemia College) at the No. 1 position.

Juniors Robert Stirling (Caboolture, Australia/St. Columbans College) and Branth earned the doubles point for the Dukes with a 6-4 victory over Sabastian Penaloza and Mercer at the No. 2 position.

Stirling went 2-0 on the day when he opened singles action for the Dukes with 7-6, 6-1 victory over Penaloza at No. 2 singles.

Morehead State tied the match with back-to-back singles wins. Moorhead fell in two sets (6-1, 6-4) to Ruiz at No. 3 singles before Kruunenberg defeated Salinas in three sets (6-2, 4-6, 6-1).

JMU next hits the courts on Sunday, February 1 in a 1 p.m. match at Penn State.

JMU 4, Morehead State 2
Singles
1. Ritchie Kruunenberg def. Sebastian Salinas 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
2. Robert Stirling (JMU) def. Sabastian Penaloza (Morehead) 7-6, 6-1
3. Gabriel Ruiz (Morehead) def. Brett Moorhead (JMU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Maxi Branth (JMU) def. Nick Mercer (Morehead) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
5. Stephen Goldman (JMU) def. Jose Zurro (Morehead) 6-0, 6-0
6. Enrique Samudio (Morehead) vs. Miljan Ruzic (JMU) 5-0, ret. (DNF)
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1, 4, 5*, 6(DNF)
Doubles
1. Kruunenberg/Ruiz (Morehead) def. Salinas/Ruzic (JMU) 6-2
2. Stirling/Branth (JMU) def. Penaloza/Mercer (Morehead) 6-4
3. Goldman/Moorhead (JMU) def. Zurro/Samudio (Morehead) 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2*