Dukes Fall 4-3 at Troy in Sun Belt Opener

Saturday, March 18

Troy, Ala.

1 p.m. ET (Noon CT)

James Madison University

Troy

3/18/2023 5:15:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

TROY, Ala. – James Madison men's tennis was moments away from clinching the victory in its Sun Belt Conference opener, but Troy was able to battle back and down the Dukes, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon at the Lunsford Tennis Center.

The Trojans improved to 13-2 on the year and 1-0 in Sun Belt play, while the Dukes fell to 7-5 and 0-1. It was the inaugural meeting between the programs.

Francisco Sinopoli was the lone JMU player to earn a victory in both singles and doubles, while Julian Lozano and Aathreya Mahesh also claimed singles wins.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles Play

Troy won two of three doubles bouts to gain the early lead.
Francisco Erramuspe and Mario Martinez Serrano downed Mahesh and Youssef Sadek, 6-1, on court three.
JMU evened things on court one, as Holden Koons and Sinopoli cruised to a 6-1 win against Jules Fabre and Noah Martens.
The Trojans captured the doubles point on court two, where Yeray Andres Pastor and Carles Anton upended Lozano and Edson Sanchez, 6-3.

Singles Play

Troy doubles its lead to 2-0 with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 win by Vito Llinares versus Sanchez on court five.
JMU got on the board on court two, as Lozano rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Anton.
The Trojans made it a 3-1 match on court three with another straight-set win. Andres Pastor took down Sadek, 6-2, 6-3, to bring the hosts to within a point of the team win.
JMU battled back, as Sinopoli defeated Martens, 6-2, 6-4, on court four.
The Dukes then squared the match at 3-3, as Mahesh used a tiebreak win in the first as momentum to down Erramuspe by scores of 7-6 (3), 6-2.
On court one, Koons had two match points while up a set, but Martinez Serrano overcame both and forced a third stanza where he rallied past JMU's top player, 3-6, 7-5, 6-0.

UP NEXT
JMU is back on the court on Sunday, March 19 when it faces South Alabama in Mobile. The opening serve is set for 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT) from the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.