Dukes Fall Just Short to Tribe

Saturday, March 4

Harrisonburg, Va.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

William & Mary

3/4/2023 5:42:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison held a 2-1 lead during singles, but William & Mary rallied in third sets in the final two matches to take a 5-2 men's tennis win from the Dukes on Saturday afternoon at Hillside Courts.

The Tribe evened their record to 5-5, while the Dukes fell to 5-4. It was W&M's 10th straight victory against JMU, dating back to the 2012-13 season.

Edson Sanchez led the Dukes with wins in both doubles and singles, while Holden Koons won his fifth straight singles match at the No. 1 spot.

The doubles victory by Sanchez and Julian Lozano was the tandem's seventh straight win while teaming together, including a 4-0 mark in dual play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles Play

JMU gained the early advantage with a dominant performance on court two. The team of Lozano and Sanchez cruised to a 6-2 victory against Joseph Brailovsky and Andres Silva.
The Tribe evened it up on court one, as George Davis and Bill Duo took advantage of multiple deciding points to down Koons and Aathreya Mahesh, 6-3.
W&M captured the doubles point in a highly competitive match on court three. The tandem of Alexander Karman and Daniel Pellerito held off Youssef Sadek and Canon Secord, 7-5.
JMU overcame three match points while down 5-4 on court three to tie it at 5-5, but the W&M duo would go on to win the next two games to clinch.

Singles Play

JMU tied the match up over on court five, as Sanchez dispatched Sean Joseph in straight sets, at 6-2, 6-3.
The Dukes gained their first lead of the afternoon on court one when Koons fended off Davis, 6-1, 7-5.
W&M tied the bout back up at 2-2 with a win over on court six. Pellerito trailed 4-1 in the second set, but rattled off five straight games to upend Mario Pena, 6-3, 6-4.
The final three matches would be decided through a tiebreak or third set, all of which went the way of William & Mary.
Duo snuck by Sadek in a hard-fought match on court four, coming away with a 6-4, 7-6 (8) win to give W&M the lead.
The Tribe clinched the match on court three, as Silva rallied in the third for a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory against Sinopoli.
In the final match, Lozano led 3-2 in the third before Brailovsky turned in four straight game winners to take down a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win on court two.

QUOTING HEAD COACH STEVE SECORD
"The guys battled hard with William & Mary from start to finish, but we aren't satisfied with the result. We are improving in many areas but still need to execute in the moments that make a difference. We need to figure out the doubles point and get some positive momentum going into singles. We look forward to a few days of practice before we are back at it with UNCG.

UP NEXT
JMU returns to action on Wednesday, March 8 when it hosts UNCG. The opening serve is set for 2 p.m. at Hillside Courts.