JMU Blanks Howard 7-0 in Home Opener

Tuesday, March 24

Harrisonburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

Howard

3/24/2015 5:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison men's tennis blanked Howard 7-0 in its home opener on Tuesday at Hillside Courts, and the Dukes moved to 5-8 on the season while the Bison fell to 2-8 overall.

The Dukes struck first as junior Robert Stirling and sophomore Brett Moorhead powered to an 8-1 win over William Jones III and Nico Sorrell at No. 2 doubles, clinching the first JMU point of the afternoon when combined with Howard's default at No. 3 doubles.

At No. 1 doubles, both teams battled back-and-forth to a 5-5 tie before sophomores Sebastian Salinas and Miljan Ruzic pulled ahead to a 7-5 advantage. The Bison pulled back within one, but Madison countered and pulled out the 8-6 match win to complete the doubles sweep.

JMU began singles with a 2-0 lead as a default at the No. 6 position stood for the second point of the afternoon. In the remaining five singles matches, the Dukes won each of the first sets at Nos. 1-5, including three 6-0 victories. They continued on to win every singles match in the minimum two sets.

Match point was clinched by JMU with nearly simultaneous victories at No. 4 and No. 5 singles. Moorhead took down Hawkins Owens in straight 6-0 sets at the No. 4 position for the third JMU point just before Ruzic blanked Sorrell in the same manner at the No. 5 position for the fourth and decisive point.

Stirling made it a 5-0 lead for the Dukes, taking down Jones 6-0 in set one of No. 2 singles. Jones, down 5-0 in set two, battled back to within two at 5-3 before Stirling secured the decisive 6-3 win in the second stanza.

At No. 1 singles, Salinas stayed tight with Ismael Kaouache during the early goings of both sets before pulling away for 6-3 and 6-2 wins for the sixth JMU point.

Junior Maxi Branth secured a pair of 6-2 victories at No. 3 singles to round out the day and tallied the final point of the afternoon for the 7-0 Madison win.

The Dukes return to action this weekend with a pair of road trips. They begin at Villanova on Saturday with a 3 p.m. match before swinging over to Drexel for a 1 p.m. showdown in Colonial Athletic Association action. JMU is 1-2 in CAA matches this spring.