James Madison University’s men’s tennis team secured a narrow 4-3 victory over Furman University on Saturday at the Westhampton Tennis Complex in Richmond, Virginia. The Dukes improved their season record to 8-3 and extended their winning streak to four matches. This result also marked their second consecutive win against Furman, bringing their all-time record against the Paladins to 3-5.
Furman started strong by winning two out of three doubles matches, taking an early lead. Zach Fleishman and Harrison Lee managed a 6-3 win for JMU on court three, but Furman clinched the doubles point with victories on courts one and two.
In singles play, Nico Snyder defeated Esteve Agusti on court one with scores of 6-2, 6-3, giving Furman a 2-0 advantage. However, JMU responded as Aurelien Schmitt won in straight sets over Theophile Joly (6-3, 6-1) on court two. Gur Libal tied the match at 2-2 with his sixth consecutive singles victory—a 6-3, 6-3 win against Landon Ecarma on court six.
The Dukes took the lead when Fleishman beat Walker Allen (6-2, 6-3) on court five. Furman’s Nicolas Dispas leveled the score again by defeating Ryan Morgan (6-4, 6-4) on court three.
With the match tied at three points each, Francisco Sinopoli faced Evan Duggal in a decisive singles contest. Sinopoli was down 5-4 in the final set before rallying to break serve and eventually secure a comeback win with scores of 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Reflecting on the outcome: “After breaking Duggal to square the bout at 5-5, he held serve to go up 6-5. In the final game, he took control early and capped off JMU’s victory with a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 triumph.”
JMU will return to action on Sunday, March 15 for its Spring Break trip opener against Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. The match is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.
