NORFOLK, Va., Oct. 25, 2009 - The James Madison men's tennis team sent four individuals and two doubles teams to participate in the ITA Men's Atlantic Region Championships held last weekend on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.

Senior Mike Smith (Fairfax Station, Va./Robinson) led the way for Madison pick up a win in both singles play and doubles play.  In singles play, Smith was the 21st seed and received a bye in the first round.  He advanced to the round of 32 with a 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-4 win over Giancarlo Lemmi of Liberty before being knocked off by the No. 14 seed Luka Somen of Virginia Tech 6-4, 6-1.

In doubles play, Smith teamed up with junior Matt King (Lorton, Va./Robinson) to receive the ninth seed.  The duo received a bye in the round of 64 before dispatching of Guillaume St. Maurice and Bryan Welnetz of Penn St. 8-5.  Smith was eliminated for a second time in the regional championships by Somen as he teamed up with Corrado Degl'Incerti Tocci to down the Dukes 8-4.

JMU's only other win at the regional championships came from doubles partners sophomore Tommi Nissinen (Oulu, Finland/Kastellin lukio) and freshman Greg Vladimirsky (Coral Springs, Fla./Broward Virtual) who beat Morgan State's Juan Ortiz and Mauricio Ortiz 8-1 before falling in the round of 32.

Nissinen, Vladimirsky and sophomore Ville Maaranen (Joensuu, Finland/Joensuun lukio) all participated in singles play but were eliminated in the round of 128.

The ITA Atlantic Regional Championships was the final event on the Dukes' fall schedule as they break until Jan. 22-23 where they will play in the VCU 4+1 Invitational in Richmond, Va.

# # #