Dukes Take Down Defending Sun Belt Champ South Alabama, 5-2

Sunday, March 26

Harrisonburg, Va.

10 a.m.

James Madison University

South Alabama

Dukes Take Down Defending Sun Belt Champ South Alabama, 5-2

3/26/2023 3:27:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison women's tennis closed its first conference home weekend with a strong finish, defeating South Alabama, 5-2, in Sun Belt Conference action Sunday afternoon at Hillside Courts.

The Dukes improved to 9-5 on the year and remained unbeaten in Sun Belt play, at 5-0. The Jaguars dropped their second straight match, falling to 12-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

JMU has now won 11 straight conference matches dating back to 2021 and has captured 14 in a row versus conference foes when adding in postseason play.

Seniors Kylie Moulin and Daniela Voloh earned wins in both doubles and singles play, while Daria Afanasyeva and Hope Moulin notched singles triumphs to lead the Dukes. South Alabama led 2-1 before the Dukes rattled off wins on the final four courts.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles Play

JMU won the doubles point in a thrilling comeback fashion, as the point would be decided in a tiebreak.
USA grabbed the early advantage on court three, as Otoha Aoki and Chems Doha Zeghlouli beat Afanasyeva and Reka Matko, 6-3.
Shortly after, JMU evened things on court two, where Daria Munteanu and Voloh pulled away for a 6-4 win on Elysia Pool and Nikola Novotna.
On court one, South Alabama had two match-point opportunities, one while leading 5-3 and another at 5-4, but the JMU tandem of Kylie Moulin and Ines Oliveira fended off both and rallied for a 7-6 (4) victory against Tereza Dejnozkova and Luminita Tutunaru. Also trailing 6-5, the Dukes won their service game to force a tiebreak, which the hosts would claim 7-4 to clinch the doubles point.

Singles Play

South Alabama quickly evened the match and later took a 2-1 lead with triumphs on courts four and five.
Dejnozkova picked up a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Oliveira on court four, before Doha Zeghlouli downed Munteanu, 6-2, 6-4.
The Dukes squared the bout at 2-2 with a win on court one, as Kylie Moulin powered past Tutunaru for the second time on the day with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Moments later, her sister, Hope Moulin, gave JMU the lead back with a 6-2, 6-3 win on court six versus Aoki.
The clinching point came on court three, where Voloh took over in the second set, walking away with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph against Pool.
Sunday's final matchup would be the closest, as Afanasyeva held off Novotna, 7-5, 7-6 (2) on court two. Afanasyeva trailed in both sets before rallying for the day's final point.

HEAD COACH SHELLEY JAUDON ON THE WEEKEND SWEEP
"This was a well-played match from the girls today. Kylie and Ines gave us strong momentum going into singles with a gutsy performance at #1 doubles. I'm really pleased with the way we closed out our singles matches with confidence."

"Overall, the success of this weekend is a credit to the team learning from our non-conference season and growing from some tough losses. I'm proud of the way our seniors stepped up this weekend and led the way."

"It's important for us to use this weekend's momentum into another strong home weekend to come."

UP NEXT
JMU is back home next weekend for a pair of Sun Belt matchups at Hillside Courts. The Dukes host ULM on Saturday, April 1 at noon and Arkansas State on Sunday, April 2 at 11 a.m.