HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison men’s tennis won a thrilling doubles point and registered wins on the top-three singles courts to defeat George Mason, 4-0, in the team’s non-conference finale Tuesday afternoon at the East Campus Tennis Courts.

JMU (6-10) ended a six-match slide with the win, as it improved to 36-7 all-time against Mason (6-7), which included its eighth straight victory in the series.

The Dukes earned the win via a pair of doubles wins and three singles triumphs, which included two in comeback fashion.

Zach Fleishman was the lone player on either team to go 2-0 on the afternoon. After teaming with Edson Sanchez for a 6-3 doubles win on court two over Jacco Arends and Zavan Fahim, the JMU freshman would later clinch the match with his 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 singles victory against Arends on court three.

Mason earned a 6-4 doubles triumph on court one, before the tandem of Harrison Lee and Francisco Sinopoli clutched up at the end of their court-three match with Shari Saeed and Niza Simunyola. With the match tied at 5-5, the JMU duo won a deuce point to go up 6-5. In the ensuing game, they trailed 15-40 before rattling off three straight points to win the match 7-5 and give JMU a 1-0 match lead.

In singles play, Aurelien Schmitt battled past Ekansh Kumar on court one, earning a tough 6-4, 6-3 win to extend JMU’s lead to 2-0. It was the only straight-set match of the afternoon.

On court two, Mason’s Monil Lotlikar found himself up a set after winning in six games against Esteve Agusti. After the set changeover, Agusti flipped the script, conceding just five games the rest of the way en route to his 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory, moving JMU’s lead to 3-0.

Shortly after, Fleishman finished his bout on court three to end the match.

The bout was contested on JMU’s three-court indoor facility, so no other match on courts four through six made it through the opening set. Sinopoli had just won a deuce point on court four to take a 6-5 lead over Simunyola, while Fahim won the opening game on court five with Sanchez. The court-six matchup between Lee and Saeed did not start.

JMU returns to Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday, April 12 when it hosts Louisiana in a 10 a.m. start at Hillside Courts.

JMU 4, George Mason 0
Doubles Results
Court 1: Ekansh Kumar/Monil Lotlikar (GMU) def. Esteve Agusti/Aurelien Schmitt (JMU), 6-4
Court 2: Zach Fleishman/Edson Sanchez (JMU) def. Jacco Arends/Zavan Fahim (GMU), 6-3
Court 3: Harrison Lee/Francisco Sinopoli (JMU) def. Shari Saeed/Niza Simunyola (GMU), 7-5

Singles Results
Court 1: Aurelien Schmitt (JMU) def. Ekansh Kumar (GMU), 6-4, 6-3
Court 2: Esteve Agusti (JMU) def. Monil Lotlikar (GMU), 0-6, 6-2, 6-3
Court 3: Zach Fleishman (JMU) def. Jacco Arends (GMU), 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Court 4: Francisco Sinopoli (JMU) vs. Niza Simunyola (GMU), 6-5 unfinished
Court 5: Edson Sanchez (JMU) vs. Zavan Fahim (GMU), 0-1 unfinished
Court 6: Harrison Lee (JMU) vs. Shari Saeed (GMU), did not start

Order of Results: Doubles (2, 1, 3*), Singles (1, 2, 3*)

— JMU Athletics —