JMU Edges Longwood 4-3 on the Road

Tuesday, March 15

Farmville, Va.

2:30 p.m.

James Madison University

Longwood

3/15/2016 8:45:00 PM | Men's Tennis

FARMVILLE, Va. – James Madison men's tennis battled through an early tie in singles to edge Longwood 4-3 on the road.

Junior Miljan Ruzic proved the day's decisive win for JMU (7-6) at Longwood (3-6), silencing Lachlan Manser 6-1, 6-3 at No. 6 doubles to tally the fourth Dukes point.

JMU opened the afternoon with back-to-back doubles victories to clinch the first point, started by a 6-3 win from juniors Alex Berdnikoff and Ruzic over Bharani Sankar and Rosen Ilchev at the No. 3 position. Freshman Tristan Stitt and junior Sebastian Salinas followed with a 6-4 win over Florian Uffer and Manser at No. 2 doubles to send the Dukes into singles play with a 1-0 lead.

Junior Brett Moorhead, who fought through a tough 6-4 loss with senior Maxi Branth at No. 1 doubles, quickly gave JMU a 2-0 advantage with straight 6-1 wins over Sankar at No. 2 singles. The Lancers, however, were able to win two consecutive doubles points at No. 4 and No. 3 singles to knot the match at 2-all.

Salinas broke the tie score with a two-set win at No. 1 singles (6-0, 7-5) over Castellano, setting Ruzic up to clinch match point.

The Dukes return home on March 18 to begin a six-match home stretch. They face Elon in Colonial Athletic Association action at 2 p.m. on Friday, then turn around for an in-state match-up against Richmond on Saturday at 3 p.m. JMU home matches are played at Hillside Courts.

QUOTING HEAD COACH STEVE SECORD
"We came out with great energy on all three courts and got the job done in doubles. Even though we lost at No. 1, Maxi and Brett fought hard to come back, which went a long way to create momentum for the start of singles. In singles, it was great for Brett to get off the court quickly with the first win. Sebastian had to fight hard to win in two sets, and Miljan managed to clinch it for us. I'm also proud of Tristan, Maxi and Alex for putting up great fights and giving their opponents lengthy battles. The entire team should great mental toughness and a desire to win today."

FULL RESULTS
Doubles (3, 2*, 1)