Dukes Hold Off Ball State for Thrilling 4-3 Road Win

Friday, February 3

Muncie, Ind.

1:30 p.m.

James Madison University

Ball State

2/3/2023 6:06:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

MUNCIE, Ind. – James Madison women's tennis opened its nine-match road trip with a gutsy performance, resulting in a thrilling 4-3 victory at Ball State on Friday afternoon at the Muncie Northwest YMCA.

The Dukes improved to 3-1 on the season, while the defending MAC champion Cardinals dropped to 2-2.

JMU won two doubles matches and split the six singles bouts to secure the win.

The Dukes opened the match with a pair of doubles victories to gain the early lead. On court three, the team of Daria Afanasyeva and Reka Matko cruised to a 6-2 victory against Emma Peeler and Mariya Polishchuk.

Minutes later and on court one, Kylie Moulin and Ines Oliveira clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 triumph over Jessica Braun and Emily Desai. The match on court two went unfinished once JMU earned the doubles point.

In singles play, BSU quickly evened the match up at 1-1 with a win on court three, as Amy Kaplan downed Oliveira in straight sets, at 6-3, 6-2.

The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead on court two when Polishchuk defeated Daria Afanasyeva, 6-1, 7-6 (5). Daniela Voloh squared the match back at 2-2 with a straight-set win on court four, defeating Braun, 7-6 (2), 6-2.

The Dukes regained the lead with a solid win on court one by Moulin. After dropping the opening set, she rallied and held off Peeler by scores of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. BSU came back to tie it again at 3-3, as Elena Malykh rallied past Matko, 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3) on court six.

The match came down to court five, which would also go to three sets. Annika Planinsek took the opening set, and led 3-0 in the second before Daria Munteanu reeled off nine straight games. After forcing the decisive set, she clinched the win for JMU earning a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 triumph.

Quoting Head Coach Shelley Jaudon
"Wow, what an incredible match today. We did a great job coming out and grabbing the doubles point to gain early momentum. Ball State responded strongly by coming out and taking four first sets pretty quickly. This point of the match really stands out, as our backs were against the wall and we simply refused to go away. Kylie and Dani closed their matches out strongly, setting the stage for Daria to win a thriller. A total team effort being able to rally on the road and come away with this win."

Match Notes

JMU improved to 3-1 all-time against Ball State in what was the first non-neutral site match in the history of the series.
With their respective doubles victories, Daria Afanasyeva and Kylie Moulin both moved up on JMU's all-time charts. Afanasyeva moved into third place with her 68th career doubles win, and Moulin moved into 10th place by herself with her 55th.
Voloh rose into a tie for third at JMU in career singles victories, with 77. She is matched with former Duke Jacqueline Palmucci (2010-14).
Moulin also jumped into sole possession of 10th place at JMU with her 60th singles win with the program.

Up Next
JMU heads to Louisville, Ky., on Sunday, Feb. 5 to take on ACC foe Louisville. The opening serve is set for an 11 a.m. start.