JMU falls to ODU at home

The men's tennis team lost to its final opponent of the regular season Tuesday at the Convocation Center courts in its last match before this weekend's conference championships.

JMU fell 6-2 to Old Dominion University, who came into Tuesday's match ranked 60th in the nation. The Monarch's were expecting its visit to Harrisonburg to be an easy tune-up for the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. JMU felt differently and battled each point with a purpose.

Senior captain Andrew Lux said, "They came here expecting to sweep us 7-0. The guys fought hard and we did a lot of good things today. They are seeded 60th in the nation. We kept doubles close and had a respectful outing."

The Dukes lost overall in singles competition 5-2, with only the top seeded Lux and second seeded junior Mike Hendricksen winning their matches. The doubles matches also were exciting but somewhat disappointing in that JMU lost 2-1.

Coach Steve Secord said, "We should've won the doubles. It was close and the guys fought hard, so we have something to build on."

The final score card showed the doubles team of Lux and sophomore Colin Malcolm beating the Monarchs No. 1 doubles team 8-5. JMU lost its other two doubles matches 9-7 and 8-1.

Tuesday's match marked the end of an era in JMU tennis. Lux played and won his final match on his home court, beating Old Dominion's Zoltan Csanadi 6-2, 6-3 in a very intense and emotional match.

"It was my last time playing here at home. I had a lot of emotion and that carried over into my win," Lux said.

Other results included Hendricksen's 2-6, 6-2, 10-4 win and sophomore Craig Anderson's strong fight against ODU's Calin Milos in a disappointing 6-2, 6-4 loss.

Anderson said, "It was rough to play in this type of heat, but we're not making excuses. We played them tough and had a good showing against one of the top programs in the nation."

Malcolm lost to Monarchs junior Patrik Binkowski 6-2, 6-2. Junior Bryan Knehr and sophomore Clint Morse also fell in each of their respective matches Tuesday.

Secord said, "This was a good warm-up for us. We have Wilmington (University of North Carolina-Wilmington) on Friday. They (ODU) thought that they would take it to us, and we battled back. We just need to get geared, ready and focused for the CAAs."

The CAA Championships begin Friday in Richmond. JMU will face UNC-Wilmington in the quarterfinals. This will be the first time the two teams play this season because their regular season match was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Lux said, "Friday will be a dog fight. They are ranked fourth in the conference and we are fifth. It should be very exciting."