CHARLOTTE, N.C. – James Madison men's tennis took care of business to start its five-match road trip, beating Queens University, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon at the Howard Levine Tennis Center.
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The Dukes improved to 8-2 on the year, while the Royals fell to 4-3 following the programs' first-ever meeting.
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The day began with the Dukes winning the doubles point to grab the early lead.
Holden Koons and
Youssef Sadek got the ball rolling, winning 6-1 against Win Steveker and Yoan Roussinov on court two.
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After Queens squared things up with a win on court one, the doubles point was clinched on court three.
William Karpinski and
Edson Sanchez beat Berk Enc and Laurenz Blickwede in an extended match, at 7-5.
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In singles play, Koons continued his stellar play on court one. He triumphed over Edoardo Bottino, 6-2, 6-2, giving JMU a 2-1 match lead. The victory moved Koons to 9-1 in singles play this season.
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After Queens tied things up at 2-2, the Dukes put the match away with consecutive victories on courts six and three.
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JMU regained the lead, at 3-2, by way of a
Mathieu Josserand triumph, as he dropped just three games in a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jan Malmon.
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The clincher for the Dukes came on court three, as Sadek won against Steveker, 6-4, 6-3. Queens ended the match with a three-set victory on court four for the final margin.
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UP NEXT
The Dukes heads to Fayetteville, N.C., to take on The Citadel on Monday, March 14 at 10 a.m. The neutral-site match will be contested at the Gene Clayton Tennis Center on the campus of Methodist University.