Dukes Battle Past #62 Michigan State, 4-1

Saturday, March 5

Huntington, W.Va.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

Michigan State

3/5/2022 4:50:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – James Madison overcame an early deficit, battling back for a 4-1 victory against #62 Michigan State in a neutral-site match on Saturday afternoon at the Brian David Fox Tennis Center.

The Dukes improved to 6-7 on the year, while the Spartans fell to 6-2 after seeing their six-match win streak snapped. JMU also improved to 2-0 all-time against MSU, joining its 7-2 triumph back on March 24, 1984.

The Spartans grabbed the early 1-0 lead after squeaking out the doubles point in tiebreak fashion.

After a 6-2 win for MSU on court two, JMU evened things up in doubles, as Michelle Los Arcos and Daniela Voloh downed Mary Lewis and Maja Pietrowicz, 6-3 on court one.

The point would be decided in a tight match on court three, with Charlotte Gisclon and Dagmar Zdrubecka outlasting Natalia Nikolopoulou and Amanda Nord, 7-6 (4).

Much like Friday's win at Marshall, singles belonged to the Dukes.

Kylie Moulin continued her singles dominance this spring, defeating Pietrowicz in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, on court two to square the match at one.

Moments later on court four, Voloh took down Can, 6-2, 6-2, giving JMU a lead it would not relinquish. It wasn't long before the lead stretched to 3-1, as Nikolopoulou picked up a big win on court one with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Lewis.

Nord battled Gisclon in a very tight match on court six, but she would not be denied, as she closed things out with a 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory to clinch the Dukes' win.

Two matchups went unfinished on courts three and five. Daria Afanasyeva held a 3-6, 6-2, 5-2 lead on Nicole Stephens, while Hope Moulin was tied with Lauren Lemonds at 6-1, 6-7 (4) when the match concluded.

QUOTING HEAD COACH SHELLEY JAUDON
"I'm really proud of the resolve and resilience of this team, they just keep battling. We've talked about taking some body blows here to start the year, but the girls have learned from every match and continued to get better, and I think you've seen that now with the way we're competing. We're definitely competing with a lot more confidence, especially in singles. This tough stretch of the season has definitely made us a lot tougher in singles. Still trying to work out doubles and had out chance today, and that's what we want is a chance to grab that point. It didn't go in our favor, but I think we had confidence from having the opportunity and used that going into singles. The girls came out swinging. It's a really solid win, probably one of the best in program history beating a power five team that's nationally ranked on the road in a neutral site."

UP NEXT
JMU returns home next Saturday, March 12 when it hosts George Washington. The opening serve is set for 1 p.m. at Hillside Courts.