JMU Drops Closely-Contested 4-3 Match to Georgetown

Saturday, January 31

Alexandria, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

Georgetown

1/31/2015 10:06:00 PM | Women's Tennis

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – James Madison women's tennis team came up just short in a 4-3 loss to Georgetown In a match that saw four singles matches go a full three sets and two doubles matches to a tiebreaker at Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandria, Va., on Saturday.

"I commend Georgetown for their play today and their win was deserved," Head Coach James Bryce said. "We weren't fully committed from start to finish – our energy was low and we didn't implement what we focus on at practice. It's about the process and changing the culture, which takes time. My hope is we learn from today and jump in with both feet starting Monday morning."

JMU is now 2-1 on the season (1-0 CAA) while Georgetown sits at 4-1 in dual play this season.

The Dukes opened the day with a 1-0 lead in doubles play courtesy of a 6-3 win at the No. 2 position by senior Taylor Pinchoff (Sylvan Lake, Mich./West Bloomfield) and sophomore Rachel Nelson (Big Prairie, Ohio/West Holmes) over Sophia Barnard and Victoire Saperstein. The win pushed the duo to a 3-0 record in the early goings of the spring.

The Hoyas, however, picked up the next two doubles wins to clinch the opening point. Sophie Panarese and Liselot Koenen tallied a 7-5 win over senior Sarah Khan (Islamabad, Pakistan/Overseas Pakistani Foundation College (New Mexico)) and sophomore Rebecca Harris (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian (Virginia Tech)) at No. 1 doubles to even the competition before freshman Dylan Owens (Olney, Md./Sherwood) and sophomore Emily Bradshaw (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada/Blyth Academy) were overcome in a hard-fought, 7-6(5) match by Casey Marx and Daphne de Chatellus earned at No. 3 doubles.

Georgetown took a 2-0 lead in the match when Saperstein opened singles play with a win over Pinchoff in straight 6-3 sets at No. 1 singles.

Harris posted the first point of the day for the Dukes with a two-set win (6-4, 7-6(1)) at No. 5 singles over de Chatellus. Nelson followed by evening the match at 2-all with a three-set win (6-2, 2-6, 6-1) over Barnard at the No. 2 position.

JMU took its only lead of the day when Khan earned a come-from-behind, three-set win over Panarese at No. 3 singles. After falling behind 2-6 in set one, she battled for the 7-6(8) set-two victory to even the match before closing with a 6-3 set-three win to take the point.

The final two points of the day went Georgetown's way as the Hoyas picked up wins at No. 4 and No. 6 singles to close out the 4-3 win. Owens dropped a three-set decision (5-7, 6-2, 7-6(5)) to Koenen at the No. 4 position before Bradshaw fell in two sets (6-0, 7-6(3)) to Marx at the No. 6 position, match point for Georgetown.

The Dukes next head to Washington, D.C., a pair of matches at Howard (Feb. 7, 9 a.m.) and George Washington (Feb. 8, 11 a.m.) next weekend.

Georgetown 4, JMU 3
Singles
1. Victoire Saperstein (GTOWN) def. Taylor Pinchoff (JMU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Rachel Nelson (JMU) def. Sophia Barnard (GTOWN) 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
3. Sarah Khan (JMU) def. Sophie Panarese (GTOWN) 2-6, 7-6 (8), 6-3
4. Liselot Koenen (GTOWN) def. Dylan Owens (JMU) 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (5)
5. Rebecca Harris (JMU) def. Daphne de Chatellus (GTOWN) 6-4, 7-6 (1)
6. Casey Marx (GTOWN) def. Emily Bradshaw (JMU) 6-0, 7-6(3)
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 2, 3, 4, 6*
Doubles
1. Panarese/Koenen (GTOWN) def. Khan/Harris (JMU) 7-5
2. Pinchoff/Nelson (JMU) def. Barnard/Saperstein (GTOWN) 6-3
3. Marx/de Chatellus (GTOWN) def. Owens/Bradshaw (JMU) 7-6(5)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*