JMU Advances to CAA Semifinals with 4-1 Victory Against Delaware

Friday, April 30

Williamsburg, Va.

9 a.m.

James Madison University

Delaware

JMU Advances to CAA Semifinals with 4-1 Victory Against Delaware

4/30/2021 12:24:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – James Madison avenged its regular-season setback to Delaware with a 4-1 triumph in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Men's Tennis Championship on Friday morning at the Millie West Tennis Center.

The No. 5 seed Dukes improved to 8-7 on the year to advance to Saturday's semifinals, while the No. 4 seed Blue Hens saw their season end at 7-3.

It's the second straight championship and the sixth time since the turn of the century JMU earned a spot in the CAA semifinals.

JMU got out to an early lead by way of two doubles victories. Redshirt junior Alvaro Arce and freshman Oscar Hernandez gave the Dukes the quick advantage with a 6-2 win on court two against Luis Molina and Pierce Gilheany.

The Dukes clinched the doubles point and 1-0 match lead with a court-three victory. Redshirt junior Gonzalo Adis and redshirt sophomore William Karpinski collected a 6-3 win versus Justice Jones and Luis Marcano.

Singles play began with the Dukes extending their match lead to 2-0. Arce took care of business on court two by dispatching Liam Hedlund by scores of 6-4, 6-2.

After Delaware closed the gap to 2-1 with a win on court five, freshman Mario Pena extended the lead to 3-1 with his win on court six. He bested Jones by scores of 6-2, 6-4 to bring JMU within one match of advancing.

The clinching point came a short while later on court four, as Hernandez secured the team victory by taking down Guilherme Valdoleiros in a tightly-contested match, 7-5, 6-4.

Two other matches went unfinished, as redshirt freshman Holden Koons forced a third set against James Wilkinson and redshirt senior Paul Mendoza was tied in the second set against Gilheany.

QUOTING COACH STEVE SECORD
"This is what we've been working towards all year, advancing in the tournament. The doubles point gave us good momentum heading into singles. We give credit to Delaware for making it a battle. I'm proud of our guys for fighting in singles and getting the job done. We're looking forward to another opportunity tomorrow. Go Dukes!"

UP NEXT
The Dukes will return to action on Saturday, May 1 at 11 a.m. in the CAA Championship semifinals against the winner of top-seeded UNCW and No. 8 seed Hofstra.