JMU Opens Sun Belt Play with 5-2 Win at Texas State

Friday, March 10

San Marcos, Texas

2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT)

James Madison University

Texas State

3/10/2023 6:36:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

SAN MARCOS, Texas – James Madison women's tennis began Sun Belt Conference play with a strong outing, defeating Texas State, 5-2, on Friday afternoon at the Bobcat Tennis Complex.

The Dukes improved to 5-4 on the year and 1-0 in Sun Belt matches, while the Bobcats dropped to 4-6 and 0-1. Friday marked the first-ever meeting between the programs.

This is JMU's first season competing with a true conference schedule, as the Dukes will compete in 11 Sun Belt matches this spring.

Kylie Moulin, Daria Munteanu and Daniela Voloh each went 2-0, with wins in doubles and singles, while Daria Afanasyeva also picked up a singles victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles Play

JMU won two of three doubles bouts to claim the early 1-0 match lead.
On court one, Kylie Moulin and Ines Oliveira cruised to a 6-2 victory against Kate Malazonia and Mae McCutcheon.
Texas State evened things on court three, as Sofia Fortuno and Maria Lora upended Afanasyeva and Reka Mato, 6-4.
The Dukes clinched the doubles point in a tight match on court two, as Munteanu and Voloh outlasted Jadeh Chan and Andrea Pineda, 6-4.

Singles Play

The Dukes doubled the lead on court four, where Voloh didn't drop a single game en route to a 6-0, 6-0 win versus Pineda.
The lead stretched to 3-0 by way of Munteanu's straight-set win on court five. She took down McCutcheon by scores of 6-4, 6-3. That included winning five of the final six games after trailing 2-1 in the second.
Texas State got on the board over on court six, where Fortuno defeated Hope Moulin, 6-4, 6-3.
JMU secured the match on court two, as Afanasyeva rallied in the first and won a tiebreak while cruising in the second set. She beat Emily Niers, 7-6 (2), 6-1), to give JMU a 4-1 advantage.
Kylie Moulin extended the lead to 5-1 on court one, dispatching Kiana Graham, at 6-3, 6-3.
In the final match, which was the only one contested in three sets, Malazonia slipped past Oliveira, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The match was tied at 4-4 in the final frame before the Bobcat won the final two games.

WINS TOP-10 WATCH

JMU's three JMU seniors all won Friday and will now finish their careers ranking in the top 10 of the program's singles wins list. Daniela Voloh is third (80), followed by Kylie Moulin in ninth (62) and Daria Afanasyeva in a tie for 10th (61).
Voloh moved into a tie for fifth in career doubles wins, at 63. She's tied with Jacqueline Palmucci and Ruxandra Andriescu, who both played at JMU from 2010-14.
Kylie Moulin jumped into the top 10 in combined victories, as she now has 119 between doubles and singles. That ranks ninth, as she surpassed Katherine Bulling's 118 (2009-13) and Andriescu's 117.

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