HARRISONBURG, Va., Sept. 8, 2009 -- The JMU men's tennis team opens up its 2009-10 schedule in a pair of split squad events.  The Dukes will divide up with half the Dukes traveling to Charlottesville, Va. for the UVA Invitational and the other half traveling to Fairfax, Va. for the George Mason Fall Invitational.

Head coach Steve Secord returns for his 16th year at the helm for the Dukes and needs just one more win to reach 150 in his career.  He leads a team that returns five of its top six players from 2008-09, including three All-Colonial Athletic Association selections.

Junior Jared Robinson (Johannesburg, South Africa/St. Stithians) is a two-time All-CAA second team selection and was the conference Rookie of the Year in 2008.  Robinson compiled a 17-14 record while playing No. 1 singles for the Dukes last season, including a 12-8 mark in dual matches and a 3-4 record against conference foes.

Senior Mike Smith (Fairfax Station, Va./Robinson) and junior Matt King (Lorton, Va./Robinson) were named All-CAA second-team in doubles.  The duo combined to go 6-5 in doubles matches, including a 3-2 mark against the CAA. 

Smith, a three-time All-CAA doubles selecton, also played No. 2 singles for Madison, going 14-19 in singles play.

Other returning starters for JMU include No. 3 singles player Tommi Nissinen (Oulu, Finland/Kastellin lukio), No. 5 singles player Ville Maaranen (Joensuu, Finland/Joensuun lukio).

Newcomers for the Dukes include freshmen Greg Vladimirsky (Coral Springs, Fla./Broward Virtual) and Stephen Hardy (Fairfax, Va./Robinson).  Vladimirsky was listed as a five-star recruit by tennisrecruiting.net and was ranked 287th in the world juniors by the International Tennis Federation.  Hardy is a four-star recruit, ranked fourth in Virginia and 217th nationally amongst all graduating seniors in 2009.

Madison will play in three more fall tournaments as it prepares to open match play in January 2010.  The Dukes will play in the Georgetown Invitational on Sept. 18-20, the Old Dominion Invitational Oct. 2-4 and the ITA Regional Championships on Oct. 22-25.

# # #