GREENVILLE, S.C. – James Madison men's tennis used strong doubles play and clutch finishes in singles to upend Furman, 5-2, in on Saturday afternoon at Mickel Tennis Center.
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The Dukes improved to 1-1 on the year, while the Paladins fell to 1-3.
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A trio of Dukes went 2-0 on the day, as
Youssef Sadek,
Esteve Agusti and
Aathreya Mahesh notched wins in both singles and doubles, while
Markus Giersiepen put together his first collegiate win to close the match.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles Play
- JMU claimed victories on courts one and two while dropping a tiebreak on three to grab the early 1-0 match lead.
- Playing their first match on court one, the team of Agusti and Mahesh registered a 6-2 victory against Thomas Kennedy and Elijah Poritzky.
- The Dukes secured the doubles point on court two, where Julian Lozano and Sadek dispatched Ben Cahill and Emil Westling, 6-4.
- Furman salvaged a tiebreak win on court three, as Cole Burnam and Alex Han fended off Giersiepen and Francisco Sinopoli, 7-6 (4).
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Singles Play
- The Paladins squared the match at 1-1 on court two, as Leonardo Dal Boni took a 6-4, 6-3 win from Lozano.
- Sadek gave the lead back to JMU on court one, cruising past Kennedy by scores of 6-4, 6-2.
- Furman tied it once again at 2-2 with a straight-set triumph on court three. In a back-and-forth match, Westling held off Sinopoli, 6-3, 6-4.
- Another tight one on court four went JMU's way as Agusti notched his first dual win for the Dukes by pulling away from John Rado, 7-6 (4), 6-3. That gave JMU a 3-2 match lead.
- Mahesh clinched the win for JMU on court six, as he rolled to a 6-2, 6-3 win over Burnam.
- In the day's final match, Giersiepen picked up his first career victory. After holding off Connor Laymon in a first-set tiebreak, he used that momentum to fuel him to a 7-6 (5), 6-2 triumph.
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UP NEXT
JMU is back in action on Sunday, Jan. 21 when it faces Queens in a neutral-site bout in Greenville. The opening serve is set for noon at Mickel Tennis Center.
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