HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison women's tennis returned home for the first time in six weeks and controlled the pace throughout en route to a 7-0 victory against East Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Hillside Courts.
The Dukes (10-9) claimed a pair of doubles courts and won four of six singles bouts in straight sets to earn their first win over the Pirates (4-10) since 2000. It was also the first time since 1993 that JMU beat ECU on its home court.
Registering victories in both doubles and singles on Saturday were
Brooklyn Hoffmann and
Sophie Williams, who also teamed for a doubles triumph. Also producing wins in singles play were
Daria Munteanu,
Mia Saveljic,
Ariel Avidan and
Corinna Rietmann.
The Dukes took the early lead by virtue of strong performances on courts one and three in doubles. Hoffmann and Williams dispatched Kim Auerswald and Reese Calvo, 6-3, for the advantage while the tandem of
Anna Kantor and
Reka Matko downed Xenia Jeromin and Ivona Savekova, 6-2, to clinch the doubles point.
In singles play, Hoffmann conceded just one game, as she dominated on court three for a 6-1, 6-0 win against Savekova. The lead grew to 3-0 over on court six, as Rietmann cruised past Joan Madi for a 6-1, 6-2 triumph.
The match-clinching point occurred on court one, as Munteanu, playing in her final two home matches this weekend won a competitive bout with Auerswald, taking the match by scores of 6-3, 6-4.
With the match in hand,
Mia Saveljic and Williams played super tiebreakers after splitting sets on courts two and five.
Ariel Avidan played out a full third set, as her match moved to the third before Munteanu's clinch.
With identical 10-3 super tiebreaker scores, both Saveljic and Williams captured wins in their respective matches, as Saveljic beat Jeromin, 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (3) and Williams rallied past Veronika Pavlenko, 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (3). Avidan closed the day with a dominant third, upending Calvo, at 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, on court four.
JMU hosts George Mason for Senior Day on Sunday, April 12, as part of a doubleheader with the JMU men. Both matches begin at 11 a.m. from Hillside Courts and the senior trio of Matko, Munteanu and Williams will be honored at 10:30 a.m.