MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – The George Mason University men's tennis team picked up an intra-state victory Friday evening, knocking off James Madison 5-2 at Salisbury Country Club.
 
The Patriots (1-2) swept doubles action and took four of six singles matches to grab the win.
 
"This was a great team win today," head coach Jimmy Davis said. "We had a lot of energy and the guys fought for every single point, win or lose. A lot of areas we've been working so hard to improve connected today and we took out a very tough team in a hostile environment."
 
The first doubles team of James Lange and Jakob Nielsen won 6-2, while Eddie Ayers and Andrew Curtis matched that solid margin in the second doubles position. Daniel Gutierrez and Alexis Pinsonneault took on Brett Moorhead and Tate Steinour of JMU and put together a 7-5 victory to give the Patriots the clean sweep leading into singles play.
 
From there, Lange dropped his first set against Gutierrez at No. 1 singles (5-7), but rallied with set victories of 6-3 and 6-4 to claim the match in three.
 
Nielsen won his No. 3 singles match over JMU's Roberts in straight sets (7-5, 6-4). At No. 4 singles, Gutierrez won in three (6-3, 6-7, 6-4), while Edward Ayers also went the distance in a victory at No. 5 singles (4-6, 6-2, 6-4)
 
"Jakob, Jimmy, Eddie and Daniel pulled out gritty singles wins and showed they have what it takes to pump the team up under pressure," Davis added. "This win will help our confidence going forward, but we still have a lot to continue to improve on and we're excited to get back to work."
 
Mason is back in action Friday (Feb. 3) with a matchup against Mt. St. Mary's in Fairfax.

MASON 5, JAMES MADISON 2

Doubles
1. Lange/Nielsen (MASON) def. Lanthiez/Mendoza (JMU): 6-2
2. Ayers/Curtis (MASON) def. Roberts/Salinas (JMU), 6-2
3. Gutierrez/Pinsonneault (MASON) def. Moorehad/Steinour (JMU), 7-5

Singles
1. Lange (MASON) def. Lanthiez: 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
2. Salinas (JMU) def. Ray (MASON): 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1
3. Nielsen (MASON) def. Roberts (JMU): 7-5, 6-4
4. Gutierrez (MASON) def. Moorehead (JMU): 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4
5. Ayers (MASON) def. Mendoza (JMU): 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
6. Steinour (JMU) def. Curtis (MASON): 6-4, 7-5