Dukes Thrive on Day One of Bill & Sandra Moore Invitational
9/19/2014 10:07:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Share:
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The James Madison women's tennis team went undefeated in singles (6-6) and won four of six doubles matches on day one of the Bill & Sandra Moore Invitational, hosted by Navy at the Brigade Sports Complex, to open the 2014-15 season.
"Today was a very solid first day," Head Coach James Brycesaid. "The girls took what we have been working on in practice and implemented it into their matches. Being a perfect 6-of-6 in singles is great, but we have a lot of work to get done to finish off the weekend. I am looking forward to tomorrow."
In Flight 'A' singles, both senior Taylor Pinchoff(Sylvan Lake, Mich./West Bloomfield) and sophomore Alex Huie(The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) opened with wins in their round-of-16 matches and advanced to the quarterfinal round. Pinchoff defeated Navy's Katie Porter 6-3, 6-1 and Huie took down Fairleigh Dickinson's Giselle Castany 6-2, 7-5.
Pinchoff and Huie teamed up in Flight 'A' doubles, receiving a bye through the round-of-16 and advancing to the quarterfinal round. The 2014 All-CAA First Team tandem dropped Navy's Sam Droop and Noelle Kaufmann 8-2 and advanced to the semifinals.
Freshman Kimberly Herrock(Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake) earned her first collegiate singles victory on Friday afternoon, earning a two-set win (6-3, 7-6(2)) over Lehigh's Abby Farrell in the Flight 'B' singles round-of-16 . She advances to the Flight 'B' quarterfinals alongside sophomore Emily Bradshaw(Mississauga, Ontario, Canada/Blyth Academy), who had a bye for the round-of-16.
Bradshaw teamed up with freshman Dylan Owens(Olney, Md./Sherwood) in Flight 'B' doubles and won both matches of the day. In the round-of-16, the duo dropped St. Bonaventure's Francesca Chin and Mariam Skhirtladze 8-3. In the quarterfinals, they battled for an 8-7 (9) victory over Navy's Mikaela Carlson and Summer Ralston, saving two match points to advance to the Flight 'B' doubles semifinals.
Owens received a bye in the Flight 'D' singles round and advances to Saturday's quarterfinals. In the same flight, senior Sarah Khan(Islamabad, Pakistan/Overseas Pakistani Foundation College) fought for a three-set victory over Loyola's Nicole Eberle. Khan won set one 6-3 before Eberle rallied for a 7-5 win in set two to tie the match at 1-all. Khan earned a trip to the Flight 'D' singles quarterfinals with an 11-9 win in set three to take the match.
Junior Cara Wirth(Reading, Pa./Wilson) won her Flight 'C' singles round-of-16 match in two sets (6-2, 6-3) over Ania Krawiec (Loyola). Sophomore Rachel Nelson(Big Prairie, Ohio/West Holmes) also won in two sets (6-4, 6-2) over Jamie Campisi (Lehigh) to advance to the Flight 'C' singles quarterfinals with Wirth.
Khan went 1-1 with Nelson in Flight 'B' doubles action. The pair blanked Julie Clark and Krawiec (Loyola) 8-0 in the round-of-16 before falling 8-5 to Farrell and Cassidy Cruz (Lehigh) in the quarterfinals.
In Flight 'A' doubles, Herrock and Wirth fell in a tiebreaker (8-7(5)) to Navy's Claudia Mackenzie and Porter.
The Dukes return to the courts on Saturday, Sept. 20 for day two of the Bill & Sandra Moore Invitational at Navy's Brigade Sports Complex in Annapolis, Maryland.
Singles Flight A Taylor Pinchoff(JMU) def. Katie Porter (Navy) 6-3, 6-1 Alex Huie(JMU) def. Giselle Castany (FDU) 6-2, 7-5 Flight B Emily Bradshawbye, advances to quarterfinals Kimmy Herrock (JMU) def. Abby Farrell (Lehigh) 6-3, 7-6(2) Flight C Rachel Nelson(JMU) def. Jamie Campisi (Lehigh) 6-4, 6-2 Cara Wirth(JMU) def. Ania Krawiec (Loyola) 6-2, 6-3 Flight D Dylan Owens(JMU) bye, advances to quarterfinals Sarah Khan(JMU) def. Nicole Eberle (Loyola) 6-3, 5-7, 11-9