NORFOLK, Va., March 31, 2012 - Coming off its first Colonial Athletic Association win of the season, the James Madison women's tennis team fell to 75th-ranked UNCW, 6-1, on Saturday. The loss dropped the Dukes to 9-4 overall, including a 1-2 mark in CAA play.
JMU grabbed the first doubles match when the senior/freshman pairing of Kinsey Pate (Matthews, N.C./Butler) and Taylor Pinchoff (Sylvan Lake, Mich./West Bloomfield) defeated Christina Lee and Alyssa Ritchie 8-5, but the Seahawks grabbed the next two matches and the doubles point. In No. 2 doubles, Olga Blank and Angie Sekely took down the Dukes' juniors Katherine Bulling (Loveland, Ohio/Cininnati Hills Christian Academy) and Michelle Nguyen (Springfield, Va./South County) 8-2, and Miller Hales and Kelly Cameron beat sophomore Ruxandra Andriescu (Brampton, Ontario, Canada/Turner Fenton) and junior Megan Douglass (Wilton, Conn./St. Luke's) 8-6.
Singles play started out no better for the Dukes than doubles ended. The Dukes lost in straight sets in the Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 positions. UNCW started the singles scoring in the No. 3 spot when Sekely downed Nguyen 6-2, 6-2. Cameron followed in No. 5, defeating Douglass 6-2, 6-4, and Lee topped Pate 6-4, 6-3, in the top spot to secure the UNCW victory.
In the four spot, Ritchie knocked off Pinchoff 6-2, 6-3 to put the Seahawks up 5-0 and Christina Riley defeated Douglass in three sets, 7-6, 4-6, 10-6, in the No. 6 spot.
JMU's lone point came from the No. 2 singles match. Sophomore Jacqueline Palmucci (Aurora, Colo./Cherokee Trail) defeated Blank in three sets, 4-6, 7-6, 10-5, to finish the match.
The Dukes return to action at home on Thursday, April 5 taking on Liberty at 2:30 p.m. on the Hillside Tennis Courts.
JMU 1, UNCW 6
March 31, 2012
Doubles
#1 Pate/Pinchoff (JMU) def. Lee/Ritchie 8-5 (1)
#2 Blank/Sekely (UNCW) def. Bulling/Nguyen 8-2 (2)
#3 Hales/Cameron (UNCW) def. Andriescu/Douglass 8-6 (3)
Singles
#1 Lee (UNCW) def. Pate 6-4 6-3 (3)
#2 Palmucci (JMU) def. Blank 4-6 7-6 10-5 (6)
#3 Sekely (UNCW) def. Nguyen 6-2 6-2 (1)
#4 Ritchie (UNCW) def. Pinchoff 6-2 6-3 (4)
#5 Cameron (UNCW) def. Douglass 6-2 6-4 (2)
#6 Riley (UNCW) def. Bulling 7-6 4-6 10-6 (5)
