ROME, Ga. – James Madison led on a pair of singles courts, but top-seeded Old Dominion used a two straight-set singles wins and a rally on another to down the Dukes, 4-0, in the Sun Belt Conference Men's Tennis Championship quarterfinals on Friday at the Rome Tennis Center.
ODU (15-8) advanced through to the semifinals by virtue of a pair of doubles wins on courts one and two and singles victories on courts four through six.
JMU (7-12) battled tough on the top three courts, which included the Dukes leading on courts two and three when the match concluded.
ODU snagged the doubles point and early 1-0 lead after claiming a 6-1 win on court two and a 6-2 victory on court one. Over on court three, the team of
Harrison Lee and
Francisco Sinopoli jumped out to an early lead and were tied with Yanis Moundir and Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan, 5-5, when the bout went unfinished.
In singles play, JMU jumped out to a set lead on courts three and four and battled closely on most courts in the early going.
ODU doubled its lead to 2-0 on court five when Olivier de Sardan downed
Edson Sanchez, 6-2, 5-0 retired.
Sinopoli won the opening set with Moundir, but the Monarch rallied back on court four, taking the match by scores of 2-6, 6-0, 6-2. The clinching point came on court six, as Aryan Saleh held off Lee in the first set before winning the match, 7-5, 6-2. Lee had trailed 5-2 in the opening set before tying it up at 5-5.
Elsehwere, JMU held leads on a pair of courts and was close on the other.
Zach Fleishman neared match point with Codie van Schalkwyk on court three, as he led him 6-4, 5-5. Court two saw
Esteve Agusti overcame a match point in the second set while down 5-3, and he would end his matchup with #123 Connor van Schalkwyk with a narrow lead, at 3-6, 7-6 (5), 1-0, after winning a tiebreak in the set.
The final match on court one saw Sun Belt Player of the Year Cosme Rolland De Ravel lead
Aurelien Schmitt, 7-5, 6-5, when the match was clinched.
ODU 4, JMU 0
Doubles Results
Court One: Codie and Connor Van Schalkwyk (ODU) def.
Esteve Agusti/
Aurelien Schmitt (JMU), 6-2
Court Two: Cosme Rolland de Ravel/Adam Majchrzak (ODU) def.
Zach Fleishman/
Edson Sanchez (JMU), 6-1
Court Three:
Harrison Lee/
Francisco Sinopoli (JMU) vs. Yanis Moundir/Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan (ODU), 5-5 unfinished
Singles Results
Court One:
Aurelien Schmitt (JMU) vs. Cosme Rolland de Ravel (ODU), 5-7, 5-6 unfinished
Court Two:
Esteve Agusti (JMU) vs. #123 Connor Van Schalkwyk (ODU), 3-6, 7-6 (5), 1-0 unfinished
Court Three:
Zach Fleishman (JMU) vs. Codie Van Schalkwyk (ODU), 6-4, 5-5 unfinished
Court Four: Yanis Moundir (ODU) def.
Francisco Sinopoli (JMU), 2-6, 6-0, 6-2
Court Five: Jean-Karim Olivier de Saradan (ODU) def.
Edson Sanchez (JMU), 6-2, 5-0 retired
Court Six: Aryan Saleh (ODU) def.
Harrison Lee (JMU), 7-5, 6-2
Order of Results: Doubles (2, 1*), Singles (5, 4, 6*)