PRINCETON, N.J. – James Madison notched three singles wins, including two in comeback fashion, but Princeton was able to secure the doubles point and claim three singles courts, including the final one in a third set to upend James Madison, 4-3, in women's tennis action Friday at the Si Qin Indoor Family Tennis Center.
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The Tigers (1-0) moved to 3-2 all-time against the Dukes (1-2), as the teams met for the first time since the fall of 2002.
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Princeton earned the doubles point and registered victories on courts one, three and five, while JMU took courts two, four and six for the final result.
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The Tigers napped the early 1-0 lead with doubles wins on courts one and three. After claiming court three by a 6-2 margin, the Tigers clinched the doubles point over on court one by a 6-4 score. JMU's court-two matchup, featuring
Reka Matko and
Mia Saveljic, went unfinished with the match tied at 5-5.
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In singles, Princeton extended the lead to 3-0 with straight-set victories on courts one and five. Alice Ferlito first defeated
Daria Munteanu, 6-3, 6-2, before Pearlie Zhang downed
Ariel Avidan, 6-2, 6-2.
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JMU got on the board over on court six, as
Anna Kantor got past Berklie Simmering, 7-6, 6-4.
Sophie Williams made it a 3-2 match on court four, as she rallied from a set down to beat Tsehay Driscoll, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
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Mia Saveljic squared the bout at 3-3 on court two. After dropping the opening set, she would concede just four games over the final two sets, including one in the third to register a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 win over Bella Chhiv.
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The match would be decided on court three, as Eva Elbaz was able to overcome a first-set loss in a tiebreak to rally back for a 6-8, 6-2, 6-4 win against
Brooklyn Hoffmann.
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JMU returns to action next weekend with a pair of matches in Durham, N.C., as the Dukes face Kentucky in a neutral-site bout on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 11 a.m. before facing host Duke on Sunday, Feb. 1 at noon.
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