HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison's postseason fate came down to the final singles court, and
Harrison Lee used comebacks in each set to send the Dukes past Southern Miss, 4-3, in Sun Belt Conference men's tennis action on Sunday for Senior Day at Hillside Courts.
The Dukes (7-11, 1-6 Sun Belt) wrapped up the regular season by earning the final spot in the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Men's Tennis Championship, which takes place April 18-20 in Rome, Ga.
With the win, JMU improves to 2-1 all-time against Southern Miss (2-18, 0-8 Sun Belt), as it avenged a 4-3 home loss to the Golden Eagles a season ago.
With the match all square at three apiece, the result hung in the balance of court six, where Lee was in a tight match with Ritabrata Sarkar. Sarkar stormed out to a 5-2 lead in the opening set before Lee surged back, forcing a tiebreak in which he won by a 7-3 margin.
In the second set, Lee was ahead 3-2 until Sarkar held serves and broke the JMU sophomore to snag a 5-3 advantage. After holding his own serve to keep the set alive, he tied the set at 5-5 with a dominant win on Sarkar's serve. Ahead 6-5, Lee trailed 15-40, but the Duke overcame three game points to close the match with a wild 7-6 (3), 7-5 victory.
The Dukes also won the doubles point with victories on courts two and three to take the early lead. JMU jumped out to a 3-0 match lead after singles wins on courts three and four, but USM came back with three straight singles victories on courts one, two and five to set up the finish on court six.
Celebrating Senior Day,
Edson Sanchez was honored prior to the opening serve and later played a pivotal role in securing the 1-0 lead.
In doubles play, Lee and
Francisco Sinopoli dominated court three, taking down Olle Noltorp and Pasawee Reansuwong, 6-2. Needing just one more court, the court-two tandem of
Zach Fleishman and Sanchez delivered, pulling away late for a 6-3 win against Sarkar and Ricards Spaks. The clinching point ironically came off a Sanchez serve.
In singles, Sinopoli cruised through the opening set and held off Reansuwong for a 6-2, 6-4 triumph on court four. Moments later, Fleishman, who trailed 3-2 in the opening frame on court three, would win 10 of the last 11 games en route to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Rasmus Becker. Those wins stretched JMU's lead to 3-0.
USM got back in it with a trio of straight-set wins, including identical scores on the top two courts. On court one, Noltorp overcame a set point to rally for the advantage and later taking down
Aurelien Schmitt, 7-5, 6-1. Over on court five, Sanchez battled back to force a second-set tiebreak, but Niklas Jensen was too much late as he took the bout, 6-2, 7-6 (3). The match was all tied up on court two, as Saheb Sodhi downed
Esteve Agusti, 7-5, 6-1.
Those results set up Lee's fight to the finish on court six, which secured the Dukes a spot in next's week's conference championship.
With the win, JMU will be the No. 8 seed at the Sun Belt Championship and will face top-seeded Old Dominion on Friday, April 18 at 10 a.m. from the Rome Tennis Center.
JMU 4, Southern Miss 3
Doubles Play
Court One:
Esteve Agusti/
Aurelien Schmitt (JMU) vs. Niklas Jensen/Saheb Sodhi (USM), 4-4 unfinished
Court Two:
Zach Fleishman/
Edson Sanchez (JMU) def. Ritabrata Sarkar/Ricards Spaks (USM), 6-3
Court Three:
Harrison Lee/
Francisco Sinopoli (JMU) def. Olle Noltorp/Pasawee Reansuwong (USM), 6-2
Singles Play
Court One: Olle Noltorp (USM) def.
Aurelien Schmitt (JMU), 7-5, 6-1
Court Two: Saheb Sodhi (USM) def.
Esteve Agusti (JMU), 7-5, 6-1
Court Three:
Zach Fleishman (JMU) def. Rasmus Becker (USM), 6-3, 6-1
Court Four:
Francisco Sinopoli (JMU) def. Pasawee Reansuwong (USM), 6-2, 6-4
Court Five: Niklas Jensen (USM) def.
Edson Sanchez (JMU), 6-2, 7-6 (3)
Court Six:
Harrison Lee (JMU) def. Ritabrata Sarkar (USM), 7-6 (3), 7-5
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 2*), Singles (4, 3, 1, 5, 2, 6*)