Dukes Roll Past Tigers in Season Opener, 7-0

Friday, February 12

Harrisonburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

Towson

2/12/2021 6:43:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison opened the women's tennis season in style, taking down conference foe Towson 7-0 on Friday afternoon at the East Campus Tennis Courts.

The Dukes improved to 1-0 on the young season, while the Tigers dropped to 0-1. JMU remains undefeated all-time against Towson, moving to 20-0 in a series that dates back to 2003.

JMU took the early 1-0 lead after taking all three doubles matches. The tandem of redshirt senior Jona Roka and redshirt sophomore Kylie Moulin gave the hosts the advantage with a 6-1 victory against Themis Haliou and Lea Kosanovic on court two.

The Dukes clinched the doubles point with another 6-1 win on court one, as redshirt senior Alexis Franco and redshirt sophomore Natalia Nikolopoulou cruised past Jessica Assenmacher and Alexa Martinez.

JMU swept doubles play with a big comeback on court three. Redshirt sophomores Daria Afanasyeva and Amanda Nord rallied from down 5-3 to upend Amelia Lawson and Elessa Jacobs, 7-5.

Switching over to singles play, Roka continued her strong afternoon with a convincing 6-2, 6-0 win over Martinez on court two, giving the Dukes a 2-0 match lead.

JMU secured the team victory with a pair of three-set victories on courts one and three. Afanasyeva pulled away in the third set to beat Haliou by scores of 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. Nikolopoulou grinded out a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 triumph over Lawson to make it a 4-0 lead, thus clinching the match.

The Dukes completed the sweep of Towson with three straight set victories on courts four through six.

Franco, playing in her first match for the Dukes, dropped just one game en route to a 6-1, 6-0 win versus Assenmacher. Moulin followed suit by blanking Sarah Pospischill, 6-0, 6-0, and Nord later closed out the afternoon with a 6-0, 7-6(3) win against Jacobs.

QUOTING COACH SHELLEY JAUDON
"It was so much fun to see our team back out on the court this afternoon. They showed up to the facility with a tangible energy that set the tone for the way we played and competed throughout the match. We have a lot of things we will continue to work on, but this was a great start to our season for the girls."

UP NEXT
JMU hosts ETSU on Sunday, Feb. 14. The opening serve is set for an 11 a.m. start from the East Campus Tennis Courts.