Posted on April 12, 2007
Depth is a term more associated with team sports like basketball and football, but Tuesday it proved to be the underlying theme for JMU women’s tennis against Norfolk State University.
With the team’s top-seeded players struggling in the No. 1 double’s match and Nos.1 and 2 single’s matches, Madison found its scoring punch in the deep end of the order.
JMU’s double’s tandems of freshmen Rebecca Erickson and freshmen Briana Jain at No. 2 and senior Lauren Graham and freshmen Kelly Maxwell at No. 3, handled the Spartans to earn the afternoon’s double’s point, and set the tone for a 5-2 overall match victory.
Graham and Maxwell started the action by dominating the NSU team of Fame Goudy and Donita Peterson, who didn’t win a single game in the eight-game set.
“We’ve been really trying to come into the net a lot,” Graham said. “I try to push her [Maxwell] and we took over the net and being able to angle volleys was really important.”
After the quick victory on court No. 3, the Dukes needed only one more win out of the other two matches to secure the doubles point. The rookie pair of Erickson and Jain was deadlocked at 4-4, but took control in the last five games to record the 8-5 win.
Jain liked the advantage of playing in between the other two matches and being able to see each team’s status, especially the easy victory on court No. 3.
“It was good, but we saw No. 1 was struggling so we knew it would probably come down to our match,” Jain said.
Much of the struggles on court No. 1 came as a result of a strained quadriceps muscle suffered in practice by senior captain Mary Napier. Napier and sophomore partner Anna Khoor traded service points with NSU’s Fiorella Valdivia and Lerissa Morris, before the Spartans broke serve to go up 3-2.
Morris won the point after playing baseline forehands back and forth with Khoor, who eventually went long to surrender the game. The Spartan pair didn’t look back, as they finished Khoor and Napier by a final of 8-4.
“It’s definitely important to have a deep team,” Khoor said. “If someone’s not playing that great we’re confident that the rest of the team can pull through and get a win.”
In singles action Maxwell continued what she started in her doubles contest by shutting-out Peterson for the second straight match of the day. Maxwell didn’t drop a single game and prevented Peterson from forcing deuce in all twelve games in her 6-0, 6-0 victory.
Maxwell attributed her high level of play to the strength her teammates also showed.
“If there’s high energy on [one] court, it definitely travels through courts,” Maxwell said.
Graham nearly matched Maxwell’s feat of holding her singles opponent scoreless as she cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win.
Although Khoor and Erickson lost in Nos. 1 and 2 singles, senior Catherine Phillips and sophomore Barrett Donner also picked up straight-set victories to ensure the JMU win.
“We’re a pretty deep team and some teams [only] have really strong players 1 through 3, but everyone played real well [for us],” Donner said.
JMU 5, Norfolk State 2
Doubles:
1. Valdivia/Morris (NSU) def. Napier/Khoor (JMU) 8-4
2. Erickson/Jain (JMU) def. Foster/Daugherty (8-5)
3. Graham/Maxwell (JMU) def. Peterson/Goudy (NSU) 8-0
Singles:
1. Fiorella Valdivia (NSU) def. Anna Khoor (JMU) 7-5, 6-3
2. Lerissa Morris (NSU) def. Rebecca Erickson (JMU) 7-6, 6-1
3. Lauren Graham (JMU) def. Brittany Foster (NSU) 6-0, 6-1
4. Kelly Maxwell (JMU) def. Dorita Peterson (NSU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Catherine Phillips (JMU) def. Ashley Daugherty (NSU) 6-0, 3-0 ret
6. Barrett Donner (JMU) def. Fame Gaudy (NSU) 6-3, 6-1
