Dukes Fall to W&M in Senior Day Bout

Sunday, April 7

Harrisonburg, Va.

noon

James Madison University

William & Mary

4/7/2019 5:37:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison dropped the first four points to William & Mary in women's tennis action on Sunday, but fought back to trim the losing margin to 4-3 at Hillside Courts in the Dukes' first Colonial Athletic Association loss of the season.

DOUBLES
The Tribe took an early lead with a victory at No. 3, besting freshmen Amanda Nord and Michelle Los Arcos in a 6-3 decision, but freshman Daria Afanasyeva and senior Emma Petersen levelled the point almost immediately with a 6-2 romp at No. 2.

W&M clinched the opening point, however, tipping senior Abby Amos and freshman Daniela Voloh at No. 1 in a hard-fought 6-4 contest.

SINGLES
The Tribe quickly pushed the deficit to 3-0 with 6-1, 6-2 wins at No. 4 over junior Jona Roka and No. 5 over Petersen, before clinching the overall match with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Amos at No. 2.

The Dukes' freshmen battled throughout, however. Nord recovered from a 7-5 defeat in the opening set to roll to a 6-2 win in the second set, before cruising to a decisive 10-4 win in the tiebreak, while Voloh recovered from her own first-set deficit, winning the second set in identical 7-5 fashion and jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the tiebreak on her way to a 10-6 win.

Afanasyeva made it a clean sweep for the Dukes' freshmen, winning the first set, 6-3, and losing the second, 7-6, but bouncing back to erase an 8-6 W&M lead in the tiebreak and take home the win at 11-9.

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Prior to the match, the Dukes recognized Amos and Petersen as they readied to play their final home contest at JMU, as the pair depart as the winningest senior class in program history.

QUOTING COACH JAUDON
"While the end result today was disappointing, I am really proud of the fight shown from our freshmen to finish the match. We have to find a way to put ourselves in a better position with the doubles point and that's something we will focus on heading into the CAA Tournament."

"This was a great day getting to honor the careers of Abby and Emma. They have both given so much to this program and helped it improve throughout their time at JMU."

UP NEXT
The Dukes have closed out their 2018-19 regular season and will head to Elon, N.C. to compete in the 2019 Colonial Athletic Association Championships, set to take place April 18-20. Seedings and match times for the tournament will be announced at a later date.