Dukes Take Down Radford, 4-2, in Non-Conference Finale

Wednesday, April 6

Harrisonburg, Va.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

Radford

4/6/2016 7:08:00 PM | Men's Tennis

HARRISONBURG, Va. – A three-set tiebreak win by senior Maxi Branth at No. 3 singles clinched the 4-2 for James Madison men's tennis over Radford on Wednesday afternoon, the Dukes' final non-conference match of the season.

Branth took an early lead over Nikhil Mannepalli with a 6-2 first-set win. With the Dukes ahead 3-2 for the overall match, Mannepalli drew even with a 6-4 second-set victory before pushing out to a 5-2 lead in the third set.

Winning four straight games, Branth took a 6-5 lead over Mannepalli before the Highlander once again evened the score, sending the match into a tiebreak. Branth sent the Dukes home as victors with a 7-1 advantage for the final point.

Junior Brett Moorhead battled alongside Branth at the No. 2 singles position, coming back from a first set loss to Samuel Taylor (6-4) to win the second set 7-6(3). Moorhead led 2-1 in the third set when Branth clinched match point.

The Dukes improved to 9-9 this season while the Highlanders dropped to 2-13.

To open the day, JMU trailed early in doubles competition, but a 6-4 victory from juniors Miljan Ruzic and Sebastian Salinas at the No. 2 position knotted the paired action at 1-all.

Branth and freshman Tristan Stitt earned the doubles point for JMU at the No. 1 position. Down 5-3, the duo staved off match point with back-to-back games to tie Janken Thoen and Alexa Caldwell at 5-5. The Highlanders and Dukes traded games to send their match to a tiebreaker, with JMU coming out on top 7-4 to clinch the first point of the afternoon.

The Highlanders took a 2-1 lead over the Dukes after a pair of two-set wins at No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Salinas, however, quickly tied the match again with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Thoen at No. 1 singles.

Stitt pushed the Dukes back out in front with a two-set (7-5, 6-3) win over Caldwell at No. 4 singles.

JMU returns to the courts on Saturday, April 16 for the final home match of the season. The Dukes take on Drexel in Colonial Athletic Association action at 9 a.m.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Full photo gallery available here.

FULL RESULTS
Doubles (3,2,1*)

Branth/Stitt def. Thoen/Caldwell 7-6(4)
Ruzic/Salinas def. Taylor/Mannepalli 6-4
Moreno Manzano/Meekers def. Berdnikoff/Moorhead 6-1

Singles (5,6,1,4,3*)

Sebastian Salinas def. Janken Thoen 6-4, 6-1
Brett Moorhead vs. Samuel Taylor 4-6, 7-6(3), 2-1 unf.
Maxi Branth def. Nikhil Mannepalli 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(1)
Tristan Stitt def. Alexandros Caldwell 7-5, 6-3
Michiel Meekers def. Miljan Ruzic 6-2, 6-1
Jose Manzano Moreno def. Alex Berdnikoff 6-2, 6-0

POST-MATCH REACTION

UP NEXT
JMU gets a 10-day break from competition before returning to Hillside Courts for the last time this season. The Dukes will take on Drexel in CAA action for their home finale at 9 a.m. as part of a men's-women's doubleheader.