ANNAPOLIS, Md., Feb. 17, 2013 - The James Madison women's tennis squad split a pair of weekend matches, defeating Howard 5-2 on Saturday evening (Feb. 16) and falling at Navy 4-3 on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 17). Both matches were played at the Brigade Sports Complex in Annapolis, Md.
JMU moves to 2-2 overall this spring, while Howard drops to 0-4 and Navy improves to 10-3. The Midshipmen are winners of their last eight spring matches.
In their Saturday contest, the Dukes defeated the Bison 5-2 after taking the doubles point and winning 4-of-6 singles matches. When JMU returned to the courts on Sunday, the Dukes earned the doubles point against Navy but only claimed 2-of-6 available points in singles play, falling 4-3 to the Midshipmen.
Senior Katherine Bulling (Loveland Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) and freshman Cara Wirth (Reading, Pa./Wilson) stretched their doubles win streak to five with both of their victories over the weekend. The duo dispatched Howard's Audria Bell and Umarah Mughee 8-4 on Saturday before staving off Navy's Emani Decquir and Sam Droop 8-5 on Sunday. As a unit, Bulling and Wirth are 4-0 this spring and 10-2 overall.
Bulling won both of her singles matches this weekend as well. Against Howard, the senior battled Stacey Roheman through a full match, taking the first set 7-6 before falling in the second set 6-2. However, Bulling showed poise and dominated Roheman 6-1 in set three. When taking on Navy's Logan Antill, the Duke decisively won 6-2, 6-3. She is 9-3 overall as a solo player and 3-0 this spring at the No. 4 position.
Wirth won her lone singles match-up this weekend in the No. 6 slot against Howard. She took down Bell for the second time on Saturday 6-1, 6-4 to extend her own win streak to five singles matches. The freshman is 8-2 in singles competition during her first collegiate year.
Also winners of two doubles matches in Annapolis were senior Michelle Nguyen (Springfield, Va./South County) and sophomore Taylor Pinchoff (Sylvan Lake, Mich./West Bloomfield). The two won 8-3 over Howard's Katelyn Stokes and Talia Johnson before ensuring an 8-3 victory over Navy's Erin Snook and Noelle Kaufmann. They are winners of three straight doubles matches and hold an 11-3 record this year.
Pinchoff also saw victory in her clash with Navy's Decquir, earning the singles point at the No. 1 position on Sunday with her 6-4, 6-2 win. Including her 6-2, 6-4 loss to Howard's Stokes on Saturday, Pinchoff is now 11-3 as a solo player in her second year of collegiate play.
Senior Megan Douglass (Wilton, Conn./St. Luke's) saw her first action of the spring this weekend. She knocked off Howard's Gabrielle Moxey 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to notch her first win of 2013 and fell 6-4, 6-3 to Navy's Katie Porter.
The Dukes will hit the courts again on Feb. 23 at No. 47 William & Mary. JMU will look to improve its 1-1 record against Colonial Athletic Association opponents at 4 p.m. next Saturday at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.
JMU 5, Howard 2
Doubles
1. Nguyen/Pinchoff (JMU) def. Stokes/Johnson (HU), 8-3
2. Bulling/Wirth (JMU) def. Bell/Mughnee (HU), 8-4
3. Palmucci/Douglass (JMU) vs. Roheman/Moxey (HU) DNF
Singles
1. Katelyn Stokes (HU) def. Taylor Pinchoff (JMU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Umarah Mughee (HU) def. Jacqueline Palmucci (JMU) 7-5, 6-1
3. Ruxandra Andriescu (JMU) def. Talia Johnson (HU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
4. Katherine Bulling (JMU) def. Stacey Roheman (HU) 7-6, 2-6, 6-1
5. Megan Douglass (JMU) def. Gabrielle Moxey (HU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
6. Cara Wirth (JMU) def. Audria Bell (HU) 6-1, 6-4
Navy 4, JMU 3
Doubles
1. Nguyen/Pinchoff (JMU) def. Snook/Kaufmann (Navy), 8-3
2. Bulling/Wirth (JMU) def. Decquir/Droop (Navy), 8-5
3. Palmucci/Andriescu (JMU) def. Sears/Antill (Navy), 8-4
Singles
1. Taylor Pinchoff (JMU) def. Emani Decquir (Navy) 6-4, 6-2
2. Erin Snook (Navy) def. Jacqueline Palmucci (JMU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
3. Darien Sears (Navy) def.
Ruxandra Andriescu (JMU) 6-4, 7-6
4. Katherine Bulling (JMU) def. Logan
Antill (Navy) 6-2, 6-3
5. Stefanie Ton (Navy) def. Michelle Nguyen (JMU) 6-2, 6-3
6. Katie Porter (Navy) def. Megan Douglass (JMU) 6-4, 6-3
