Dukes Use Drama, Big Points to Edge Longwood, 4-3

Sunday, February 24

Harrisonburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

Longwood

2/24/2019 6:53:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va -- James Madison men's tennis went 3-1 in tiebreaks and beat Longwood 4-3 on Sunday afternoon to stay perfect on the East Campus Tennis Courts. The Dukes improved to 7-2 while Longwood fell to 4-3.

JMU came out with energy, taking No. 2 and 3 doubles at 6-4 to clinch the doubles point.

"This was our first match of the year so far where we came out in doubles and were fired up from the first point to the last," assistant coach Jason Sinkoff said. "It was a very complete doubles match on every single court."

Like the doubles point, the match stayed tight throughout the day. Junior Paul Mendoza was the first one off the court, as he picked up a 7-5, 6-3 victory at the No. 3 slot to put the Dukes up 2-0. Senior Pierre Kohler and sophomore Alvaro Arce both played marathon matches, but came up short. Kohler fell 7-6 (4), 6-3 to Longwood's Amadeo Blasco at No.1 singles and Arce lost 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a match that was near the two-hour mark at No. 2.

With the match knotted 2-2, sophomore Gonzalo Adis steamrolled through the first set 6-1, and freshman William Karpinski took his opening set 6-4. At No. 4, Damon Roberts dropped the opening set 6-3. In the second set of these three matches JMU and Longwood endured a half-hour delay due to the outside weather conditions. Although the match was inside, the gusty winds rocked the East Campus Tennis Courts, causing their lights to flicker and eventually creating a safety concern.

When play resumed Adis proceeded to wrap up his second set with an uppercut fist pump after a 7-6 (3) second-set win to give the Dukes the edge. Karpinski shut the door, winning 6-4, 7-6 (3) to clinch the third straight victory for JMU.

"My serve was very off today, but the past two weeks I've returned serve well. I volleyed so great today; I didn't miss any easy volleys," Karpinski said. "I knew once I got to 6-5 even if I got broken, I was going to be comfortable in a tiebreaker. The last 30 minutes of practice we're always playing them, so it felt like practice to me."

With the match in hand, the Lancers' Guillermo Cagigas handed junior Damon Roberts his first loss of the spring season by a score of 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3.

RESULTS
Singles
1. Amadeo Blasco def. Pierre Kohler 7-6 (4), 6-3
2. Guilherme Sergio def. Alvaro Arce 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Paul Mendoza def. Julian Farthing 7-5, 6-3
4. Guillermo Cagigas def. Damon Roberts 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3
5. Gonzalo Adis def. Raisei Sakai 6-1, 7-6 (3)
6. William Karpinski def. Marc Casasnovas 6-4, 7-6 (3)

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2, 5, 6, 4

Doubles
1. Blasco/Sergio led Kohler/Arce 5-3, unfinished
2. Adis/Karpinski def. Farthing/Sakai 6-4
3. Mendoza/Steinour def. Casasnovas/Cagigas 6-4

Order of finish: 2, 3, 1

QUOTING COACH SECORD
Tiebreaks, this past week or two in practice, we've played hundreds of them. We've been doing it even more cut throat where we don't even do it to seven. We will play to five and make it win by one instead of by two. Credit to the guys for taking that seriously and getting through this. I don't know if we would've won today without the ECU match. A couple of the guys aren't quite where we need to be when we play these conference matches, and we've got to bring the confidence and execute and capitalize in the future.

UP NEXT
The Dukes put their three-match win streak on the line in a doubleheader against Howard and Coppin State on March 1 at noon and 3 p.m., respectively. These matches are slated to be the first 2018-19 matches played on JMU's Hillside Courts.