All eyes were on the last two courts in play at the Deer Valley Racquet Club. Saturday’s match came down to third sets at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, and it finished with James Madison escaping Boone with a 4-3 win over App State.

Matching up for the first time as Sun Belt Conference foes, App State fell to 5-5 (2-1 SBC) this season, while JMU improved to 7-5 (3-0 SBC).

The Dukes clinched the win and prevented the App State comeback at No. 6 singles. JMU’s Hope Moulin went up 6-2, before App State’s Ellie Murphy came back to win the second set 6-1. Moulin prevailed 6-0 in the third and deciding set.

Winning her first completed match of the year, Erika Dodridge battled to a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles. In the second set, she was up 5-3 with match point when a couple of out-of-bounds calls didn’t go her way and forced a third set.

The day started with JMU going up 2-0 by winning the doubles point with victories at courts two and three before Kylie Moulin handed Helena Jansen a 6-4, 6-2 defeat at No. 1 singles.

App State got back-to-back three-set singles victories from Maggie Pate at No. 3 (6-3, 1-6, 7-6) and Savannah Dada-Mascoll at No. 2 (4-6, 6-3, 6-3) to tie the match at 2-2. Dada-Mascoll, a freshman from Yorkshire, England, improved her team-best season singles record to 7-1.

JMU gained its third team point when the Dukes’ Daniela Voloh won 6-3, 6-4 over Virginia Poggi at No. 4 singles.

App State’s nonconference road match at Radford originally scheduled for Sunday, March 19, has been rescheduled for Sunday, April 16. The Mountaineers will return to action with Sun Belt road matches at Troy (March 25) and Georgia State (March 26).