MEN'S TENNIS OPENS HOME SCHEDULE WITH SPLIT

Saturday, March 20

Home (Hillside courts)

12:00 p.m.

James Madison University

Binghamton

3/21/2010 10:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis

HARRISONBURG, Va., March 21, 2010 - The James Madison men's tennis team opened up its 2010 home schedule this weekend, splitting a pair of matches at the Hillside Tennis Courts in Harrisonburg, Va. The Dukes lost 6-1 to Binghamton on Saturday before rebounding for a 5-2 win over in-state rival Longwood on Sunday.

The split ran JMU's record to 10-7. Binghamton extended its winning streak to seven matches to improve to 12-1, while Longwood dropped to 5-5.

Against Longwood, Madison jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after doubles play, and then won four of the six singles matches to seal the victory.

The Dukes top duo of senior Mike Smith (Fairfax Station, Va./Robinson) and junior Matt King (Lorton, Va./Robinson) set the tone in doubles play with an 8-4 win over Billy Heird and Marc Ferrigno. Freshmen Greg Vladimirsky (Coral Springs, Fla./Broward Virtual) and Stephen Hardy (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) teamed up to clinch the point with an 8-2 decision at No. 3.

Sophomore Tommi Nissinen (Oulu, Finland/Kastellin Lukio) won his sixth match in his last seven appearances, beating Bruno Orlandini 6-2, 6-3. He improved his singles record to 18-8 overall and 11-5 during the spring.

Vladimirsky, Hardy and sophomore Jovan Milic (Belgrade, Serbia/Belgrade Sports School) all picked up singles victories in the win.

On Saturday, the Bearcats grabbed the doubles point and won five of the six singles matches to topple JMU 6-1.

Smith and King won their fourth straight match, beating Sven Vloedgraven and Gilbert Wong 8-7 (5). However, Binghamton took the next two doubles matches to clinch the point.

Junior Yaroslav Voznenko (Kherson, Ukraine/Kherson Technical School) improved to 8-4 in singles play with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 win over Bastian Bornkessel.

The Dukes conclude their three-match home stand on Tuesday. They will meet George Mason at the Hillside Court beginning at 2:30 p.m.

Binghamton