Preview by Katie O'Sullivan

HARRISONBURG, Va., April 15, 2009 -- The sixth-seeded James Madison University men’s tennis team is set to take on third-seeded William & Mary in the Colonial Athletic Association quarterfinals this Friday.  Held once again at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, the CAA tournament will be played at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center April 16-19.

The Dukes (7-14 overall), whose conference record is 2-5, nabbed the 6th seed Monday evening after the CAA coaches held a teleconference to vote the final team into the remaining quarterfinal berth.  This critical decision positions the Dukes to bypass the play-in round of the tournament.

Posing as the CAA’s biggest threat is Virginia Commonwealth University, a team which is ranked 43rd nationally, and a program which has garnered 11 of the 13 previous championships, including last year’s.  Another top contender is No. 71 UNC Wilmington.

In looking toward the final matches of the season the Dukes have been fortunate to have good weather, allowing them to spread out practice time and work on singles for longer durations. The team has been focusing on “coming out strong from the start and being ready to compete at the level the other teams are bringing to the table,” according to assistant coach Erik Skartvedt. “All we can ask of ourselves is to work hard and be prepared for our matches.”

As far as the roster for the tournament goes, the singles lineup will remain the same depending on freshman Tommi Nissinen’s (Oulu, Finland/Kastellin lukio) injury status. Nissinen didn’t play in the team’s April 8 match against Radford University and will be a match-time decision on whether or not he can play.

Additionally, the doubles pairs are undecided as the team has been searching for combinations that mesh well together. Only the No. 1 pair, junior Mike Smith (Fairfax Station, Va./Robinson) and sophomore Matt King (Lorton, Va./Robinson), is set as the final two teams will be decided based on practice this week and past performance.

Smith and King went 5-5 playing No. 1 doubles for the Dukes, including wins over conference foes George Mason and Delaware.

In singles action, sophomore Jared Robinson (Johannesburg, South Africa/St. Stithians) played No. 1 for JMU going 17-14 overall and 12-8 in the Spring.  Nissinen went 15-12 for the Dukes, including a 3-2 mark in CAA play, and was the Dukes hottest player before going down with an injury at the CAA Round Robin.  Nissinen four-straight matches and eight of ten before the injury.

Smith said that his tournament goal is “to fight and make it a tough match for the other team to come and play.  I want to try and win a match and come out on top to build confidence leading into next year.”