Tennis Continues Homestand Against James Madison

MATCH FOUR
James Madison (1-1, 0-0 CAA) at Marshall (2-1, 0-0 C-USA)
Friday, Feb. 1 | 4 p.m.
Huntington Tennis Club | Huntington, W.Va.
Live Scoring/Statistics| Twitter (@Herd_Tennis)| Match Notes

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – After sweeping a doubleheader to open the home portion of its season, the Marshall women's tennis team continues its five-match homestand Friday against regional foe James Madison. First serve from the Huntington Tennis Club is slated for 4 p.m.

HAVE YOU HERD?
Marshall opened its home schedule with a doubleheader sweep last weekend, picking up wins over Wright State and West Virginia State on Saturday. The Thundering Herd rallied twice to defeat the Raiders, 5-2, after facing 1-0 and 2-1 deficits. The Herd had a much easier time with the Yellow Jackets, defeating the defending Mountain East Conference champion 7-0.

Marshall is above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2017 season. The Herd also seeks a 3-0 home record to start the season for the first time since 2015.

Marshall won 11 of the 12 singles matches over the course of its doubleheader, dropping one contest at the No. 5 spot in the first match against Wright State. Madi Ballow, Daniela Dankanych, Matilde Mulatero, Anna Smtih and Victoria Walter had 2-0 singles records over the weekend, with Ballow clinching the overall match win in each of the two matches.

Ballow, Mulatero, Liz Stefancic and Walter each made their home debuts in last week's doubleheader.

Head coach John Mercer currently sits two wins shy of 250 for his career. Mercer is Marshall's all-time leader in wins (248).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: JAMES MADISON
James Madison had a historic 2018 season, going 21-4 and reaching the Colonial Athletic Association championship match. JMU also had two players in the final ITA fall rankings, as freshmen Daria Afanasyeva and Amanda Nord each finished in the top 125 in singles rankings.

The Dukes have a lot of new faces this season after losing five players from a season ago, as three freshmen transferred and two seniors graduated.

JMU also has a new head coach after James Blake left following four seasons in charge. Shelly Jaudon leads the Dukes after spending the last three seasons as an assistant at Alabama. Jaudon is familiar with the landscape of Conference USA, having previously spent four seasons at Middle Tennessee.

Emma Petersen is the lone holdover from either team the last time Marshall and JMU faced off.

SERIES HISTORY
Marshall has a 4-1 lead in the all-time series against James Madison, including a 5-2 win in the last meeting in 2017.

James Madison is playing in Huntington for the first time since 2000. The Thundering Herd has not lost to the Dukes since 1999.

UP NEXT
The Herd continues its five-match homestand with its first Conference USA match of the season when it faces the Charlotte 49ers Sunday at 11 a.m.

FOLLOW THE #HERDFAMILY
For the latest information on Marshall women's tennis, follow on Twitter at @Herd_Tennis, on Facebook at Herd Tennis and online at HerdZone.com.

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Tennis Continues Homestand Against James Madison

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Players Mentioned

Madi Ballow

Daniela Dankanych

Matilde Mulatero

Liz Stefancic

Victoria Walter

Marshall University Athletics