JMU Drops 4-0 Decision to No. 57 Old Dominion

Thursday, February 4

Midlothian, Va.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

Old Dominion

2/4/2016 11:59:00 PM | Women's Tennis

MIDLOTHIAN, Va. - James Madison women's tennis dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 57 Old Dominion on Thursday night at the Salisbury Country Club.

ODU won at No. 3 and No. 1 doubles to secure the opening point, then won at No. 3, No. 2 and No. 1 singles to secure the match victory. The Dukes fell to 1-2 (1-0 CAA) on the young season while the Monarchs improved to 3-3.

After a pair of 6-2 losses in doubles, JMU came out fighting in singles action as the first three first sets played all went the distance. Junior Timea Guibe won her first set against Nataliya Vlasova 7-5 at No. 1 singles while sophomore Rachel Nelson fell in a tiebreaker (7-6(4)) to Nikol Hristova at No. 2 singles and freshman Abby Amos dropped a 7-5 set to Adriana Rajkovic at No. 3 singles.

Amos dropped her second set to Rajkovic 6-2, putting the Monarchs ahead 2-0. A 6-4 second-set loss by Nelson to Hristova pushed the ODU lead to 3-0. At the No. 1 position, Guibe was unable to maintain her momentum and back-to-back set wins by Vlasova (6-4, 6-2) clinched the 4-0 team victory for ODU.

The No. 2 doubles match was left unfinished once the point was won, as were the singles matches at No. 4 and 5. The No. 6 singles match was not played.

This marks the second match of the season the Dukes have battled a ranked opponent. JMU faced No. 75 Maryland in the season opener, a 5-2 victory in favor of the Terps.

JMU is back on the courts Saturday, Feb. 6 at Howard for a noon contest.

QUOTING HEAD COACH JAMES BRYCE
"Tonight, we fought a top team down to the wire. We definitely had our opportunities, but didn't capitalize when we needed it most. It's the first time we have put ourselves in this situation, and we need to keep doing so to gain the experience. I'm proud of this team, and I know their moment to beat a team in the rankings will come very soon."

FULL RESULTS
#57 ODU 4, JMU 0
Doubles (3, 1*)

Rajkovic/Vukovic def. Guibe/Heidenreich 6-2
Amos/Harris vs. Vlasova/Hristova, 5-4 unf.
Vojcinakova/Novakovic def. Herrock/Petersen 6-2

Singles (3, 2, 1*)

Nataliya Vlasova def. Timea Guibe 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
Nikol Hristova def. Rachel Nelson 7-6(4), 6-4
Adriana Rajkovic def. Abby Amos 7-5, 6-2
Kimmy Herrock vs. Ingrid Vojcinakova, 6-0 unf.
Rebecca Harris vs. Marijana Novakovic, 3-1 unf.
Emma Petersen vs. Ivana Vukovic, DNP

TWEET OF THE DAY

I hope @JMUWTennis & @ODUWomensTennis are having a good time playing at Salisbury CC. I've certainly enjoyed that place through the years.
- Sonny Dearth (@sdearth) February 5, 2016

UP NEXT
JMU takes a short northern swing with a pair of road matches this weekend. The Dukes are at Howard on Saturday, Feb. 6 for a noon bout, then at Navy on Sunday, Feb. 7 for 9 a.m. contest.