Roka Breaks Combined Wins Record in JMU’s 7-0 Win over Tribe

Sunday, March 21

Harrisonburg, Va.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

William & Mary

Roka Breaks Combined Wins Record in JMU’s 7-0 Win over Tribe

3/21/2021 8:56:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Redshirt senior Jona Roka set the program record for most career combined wins, and James Madison women's tennis turned in its largest victory ever against William & Mary with a 7-0 triumph Sunday afternoon at Hillside Courts.

The Dukes improved to 6-1 on the year and 2-0 in Colonial Athletic Association play while the Tribe dropped to 2-5 and 1-1.

This was just the third time JMU has beaten William & Mary, with the last time coming in the 2019 CAA Championship final. It's also the Dukes' first home win versus the Tribe in the series.

Roka won both her doubles and singles match to reach 154 for her career to surpass Emma Peterson (2015-19) on the combined wins list.

She and redshirt sophomore Kylie Moulin opened the day with a dominant 6-1 win against Jill van den Dungen and Raffaela Alhach. That win tied Roka with Peterson at 153 total wins. Later in singles, Roka was second to finish her match, as she downed van den Dungen by scores of 6-1, 6-2 on court two, setting the new JMU record.

Back in doubles, redshirt sophomores Daniela Voloh and Natalia Nikolopoulou clinched the doubles point for the Dukes by beating Elisa Van Meeteren and Alisia Manolescu by a 6-3 score.

In singles, Moulin continued her strong play with a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Manolesu on court four. After Roka's win made it 3-0 in favor of the Dukes, redshirt senior Alexis Franco clinched the match for JMU, beating Van Meeteren, 6-1, 7-6(1). Franco trailed 6-5 in the second set before forcing the tiebreak and winning the first six points to take control of that tiebreak.

Voloh extended the lead to 5-0 with a come-from-behind win on court six. She defeated Lisa Fukutoku in super-tiebreaker fashion, taking the match by scores of 6-7(4), 6-0, 1-0(8).

The Dukes finished the match with a pair of three-set thrillers on courts three and one. Nikolopoulou outlasted Vitoria Okuyama, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, giving JMU a 6-0 match lead.

Redshirt sophomore Daria Afanasyeva and Mila Saric battled in an absolute classic, as Afanasyeva rallied in the third set for a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(7) triumph. Trailing 5-2 in the third, Afanasyeva won the next four games while Saric tied it at 6-6 to force a third-set tiebreak. Saric took a 6-3 lead in the tiebreaker, but Afanasyeva staved off three match points, tying it at six. Trailing 7-6, Afanasyeva won the next three to claim the match.

MATCH NOTES

The 7-0 win was the largest win for JMU in the series, with the previous record being the 4-2 win over W&M in the CAA title match back on April 20, 2019.
JMU earned its third victory against Tribe and the first in a home match against them at Hillside Courts.
Daniela Voloh improved to 5-0 in singles and 4-0 in doubles this spring, as she is the lone unbeaten JMU player this season.
Kylie Moulin also remained undefeated in doubles play, as she moved to 5-0 this year.

ROKA ATOP THE TOTAL WINS LIST

Jona Roka won her 153rd and 154th matches Sunday against William & Mary to become the all-time combined wins leader at JMU.
She surpassed Emma Peterson, who won 153 times from 2015-19.
Roka has won 78 singles matches and 76 doubles matches during her career, as both of those totals also rank second in JMU history.
She is just eight singles win shy of Peterson's record of 86 and seven doubles triumphs away from tying Taylor Pinchoff (2011-15).

QUOTING COACH SHELLEY JAUDON
"I'm really proud of the effort our entire team put into today's match. This was a total team effort where we were able to put together a lot of things we've been working and focusing on. A big congrats to Jona and her accomplishment of becoming the wins leader for JMU women's tennis. She has invested herself in making this program better throughout her career so I'm very happy to see her efforts payoff in this way."

UP NEXT
JMU begins a five-match road trip on Tuesday, March 23 when it travels to the capital to face VCU at 1 p.m.