Dukes Rally Past Mason in Home Opener

Saturday, February 17

Harrisonburg, Va.

Noon

James Madison University

George Mason

2/17/2024 5:44:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison overcame a pair of deficits in its home opener, winning four singles matches to take down George Mason, 4-3, in non-conference men's tennis action on Saturday afternoon at East Campus Tennis Courts.

The Dukes snapped their four-match skid, improving to 2-5 this spring, while the Patriots fell to 2-4. It was JMU's seventh straight victory in the series and its 13th in a row on home soil versus Mason.

Mason grabbed the early 1-0 lead, taking two of three doubles matches, before the Dukes won four of the first five singles bouts to clinch the victory. The match saw four matches go three sets, as the competitive marathon between in-state foes lasted five hours and 10 minutes.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles Play

JMU took the advantage early in doubles, as Markus Giersiepen and Youssef Sadek rolled to a 6-0 victory on court two versus Jacco Arends and Momin Khan.
Mason evened things up on court three, where Dustin Ha and Alvaro Pedraza downed Edson Sanchez and Francisco Sinopoli, 6-2.
In the deciding match on court one, Mason overcame a 5-2 deficit and one match point, as Monil Lotlikar and Niza Simunyola rallied past Esteve Agusti and Julian Lozano, 7-5, to clinch the doubles point.

Singles Play

JMU tied the match at 1-1 with a thriller on court two. After dropping the opening set, Lozano conceded just four total games en route to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory against Arends.
Mason regained the lead on court one, as Lotikar rallied past Sadek, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.
The match was tied again, at 2-2, as Agusti won a back-and-forth battle on court three. After splitting sets, Agusti held off Simunyola by scores of 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Sinopoli gave JMU its first lead of the day, at 3-2, with a dominant performance on court five. He cruised past Pedraza by scores of 6-1, 6-2.
JMU clinched its home opener on court six, as Sanchez raced past Hayden Postin, 6-2, 7-5.
The final bout on court four went to a third-set tiebreak, with Khan sliding past Giersiepen, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (0).

UP NEXT
JMU returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 24 when it travels to Davidson. The opening serve is set for 1 p.m. at the Davidson Tennis Courts.