JMU Rallies Past Radford in Non-Conference Finale

Tuesday, April 11

Radford, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

Radford

4/11/2023 6:29:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

RADFORD, Va. – James Madison men's tennis overcame an early deficit, reeling off four singles victories to defeat Radford, 4-3, in its final non-conference match of the regular season Tuesday afternoon at the Radford Tennis Complex.

The Dukes won their third straight outing, improving to 12-8 on the year, while the Highlanders dropped to 9-8 overall.

It JMU's second straight victory against Radford. The Dukes also ended RU's nine-match home win streak against them, earning their first road victory in the series since March 20, 1992.

Radford claimed the doubles point in come-from-behind fashion, while JMU followed up by taking four of the first six singles bouts to head home victorious.

Edson Sanchez was the lone Duke to go 2-0 on the day with his wins at No. 2 doubles and No. 5 singles. Joining him in the singles wins department were Youssef Sadek, Francisco Sinopoli and Aathreya Mahesh. Mahesh captured the decisive fourth point for the Dukes.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles Play

The team of Julian Lozano and Sanchez claimed a 6-2 victory against Guilherme Severin and Filippo Marangoni on court two.
Radford answered with a 7-5 comeback win on court one, as Demis Taramonlis and Dinos Raptis slid past Holden Koons and Sinopoli to even things up.
The doubles point would once again be decided on court three in a tiebreak, where Charles Courteau and Robert Hagen downed Sadek and Canon Secord, 7-6 (9).
JMU led 5-3 in the match before the Radford duo reeled off three straight games. The Dukes forced a tiebreak and trailed 6-3 in the breaker before squaring the match. The Highlanders eventually fended off the JMU two, winning the breaker, 11-9.

Singles Play

Sadek evened the score at 1-1, blanking Severin by a 6-0, 6-0 count on court three.
Radford regained the lead on court two, as Raptis snuck by Lozano with a pair of extended tiebreak wins. He took the match by scores of 7-6 (6), 7-6 (8).
JMU squared it back at 2-2 moments later, when Sanchez took down Courteau in straight sets, at 7-5, 6-3, on court five.
The final three matches went the distance, with JMU winning the next two matchups to secure the victory.
On court four, Sinopoli dropped the first set before bouncing back with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win versus Hagen.
Mahesh clinched the team triumph on court six, as he overcame an early setback, cruising in the third for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win against Marangoni.
In the final match, Koons couldn't break the serve of Taramonlis in the third set, who won in a final tiebreak on court one. He outlasted Koons for a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) victory.

UP NEXT
JMU closes the regular season on Saturday, April 15 with a trip to Norfolk, Va., to face 67th-ranked Old Dominion as part of the TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge. The opening serve is set for 10 a.m. at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.