Dukes Beat Patriots 5-2 In Home Opener

Friday, January 25

Harrisonburg, Va.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

George Mason

1/25/2019 5:43:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va -- Playing in its home opener, James Madison men's tennis outlasted George Mason 5-2 at the East Campus Tennis Courts. It's the second year in a row the Dukes have taken down the Patriots.

The Dukes captured the doubles point quickly, with strong play from their No. 2 and 3 doubles teams. The teams of senior Pierre Kohler and sophomore Alvaro Arce along with sophomore Gonzalo Adis and junior Josh Raymundo cruised to 6-2 victories to send the Dukes to a 1-0 lead before singles play.

Junior Paul Mendoza and Arce kept things smooth for JMU, as they earned the only straight-set victories of the day. Mendoza punished an overhead which gave the Dukes a 2-0 lead and earned himself a 6-2, 6-3 win. Minutes later, Arce snagged his third straight win to open the season with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Pally Ray.

After Kohler dropped a nail-biting match 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6) at No. 1 singles, the Dukes found themselves up 3-1, but down a set on courts four and five.

"Two things can happen when you lose the first set. You can look at what you did well and what you need to fix and reset your focus to get ready to give all you got, or you can lose focus and let what happened in the first set dictate the match," assistant coach Jason Sinkoff said. "The guys battled well today. It's great to see a never give up attitude, but in practice this week, we'll place an emphasis on getting off to a quick start."

Junior Damon Roberts found himself down 6-4 after the first set but yielded just three games the rest of the match for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win.

"I changed my game style from the first set and decided that I needed to be more consistent and not go for as much," Roberts said. "I stayed calm mentally and knew even though the first set didn't go my way I was going to come through."

Roberts' come-from-behind win clinched the match, which seemed to fuel his teammate Gonzalo Adis to mount a comeback. Adis dropped the first set but pulled through to punctuate the win with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 triumph.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. Ayers/Nielsen def. Mendoza/Steinour 4-3 (DNF)
2. Kohler/Arce def. Ray/Buzoianu 6-2
3. Adis/Raymundo def. Charles/Nakaurai 6-2

Singles
1. Edwards Ayers def. Pierre Kohler 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5)
2. Alvaro Arce def. Pally Ray 6-3, 6-2
3. Paul Mendoza def. Jakob Nielsen 6-2, 6-3
*4. Damon Roberts def. Guiliano Buzoianu 4-6, 6-3, 6-0*
5. Gonzalo Adis def. Erick Rivas 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
6. Ryan Charles def. Eugene Clur 6-4, 1-6, 10-6

Order of finish - Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,2,1,4,5,6)
* - Clinched Match

QUOTING COACH STEVE SECORD
"It was good to get the first home win. Each guy should reflect on the positives and what he need to work on. We as coaches have high expectations for the team and not all of them were met today. We will have a great week of practice and come out strong next weekend."

UP NEXT
The Dukes play a home doubleheader at the East Campus Tennis Courts against Washington & Lee (10 a.m.) and Mount St. Mary's (3 p.m.) on Sunday, Feb. 3.