James Madison University’s men’s tennis team secured a 4-2 win over Richmond on Friday at the Westhampton Tennis Complex. The Dukes, now holding a 7-3 record for the season, have won three consecutive matches and ended a three-match losing streak against the Spiders, earning their first victory over Richmond since 2022.
Richmond started strong by winning the doubles point with 6-3 victories on courts one and three. The Spiders extended their lead to 2-0 when Davis Wiley defeated Esteve Agusti in straight sets (6-2, 7-6 [3]) on court one.
James Madison responded during singles play. Zach Fleishman delivered JMU’s first point with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Cole Brashear on court five. Ryan Morgan then tied the match at two apiece by defeating Paxton Pritchard (6-2, 7-5) on court three.
The remaining singles matches were decided in third sets. Gur Libal gave James Madison its first lead of the day with a victory over Nathan Germino (6-3, 4-6, 6-3) on court six. Francisco Sinopoli clinched the overall match for JMU after coming from behind to beat Otto Sewell (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) on court four.
The last match between Aurelien Schmitt of JMU and Charlie Burdell of Richmond was left unfinished with Burdell leading in the third set.
James Madison will return to action at the same venue on Saturday, March 7 for a neutral-site contest against Furman scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
