Live Results vs. JMU

FAIRFAX, Va. – Fresh off of a strong fall season, the George Mason University men's tennis team will open its spring dual season Friday afternoon with a contest at James Madison.
 
First serve in Harrisonburg is set for 1 p.m. The match can be followed on the JMU site via live results.
 
Mason will look to continue the momentum from a solid fall into this spring season of promise. The Patriots competed in three tournaments, highlighted by some excellent performances at the ITA Regional in Blacksburg Oct. 18-21.
 
In that prestigious event, the doubles tandem of juniors Edward Ayers and Jakob Nielsen put together an outstanding run to the Round of 16 to lead the Patriots.The duo opened their competition with an impressive 8-6 victory in the Round of 64 over the tournament's No. 15 seed – Penn State's Alp Sentay and Christos Antonopoulos. In the Round of 32, Ayers and Nielsen continued their excellent play with a victory over conference rival Duquesne. They defeated the Isaacs/Mascioli tandem, 8-5, to advance to the Sweet 16.
 
In singles, Ayers claimed a win over William & Mary's Jack Kelly. The San Antonio product easily dispatched of his opponent in straight sets (6-1, 6-2). Nielsen won his match over Hampton's Fernando Fernandez in straight sets as well, 7-5, 6-0.
 
Ayers and Nielsen will look to help lead the Patriots during their junior spring season. Ayers will command the No. 1 singles position, after garnering Second Team All-Atlantic 10 accolades in 2018. Ayers posted 10 dual wins last season and went 5-3 in conference play. Nielsen handled the No. 3 singles position for much of 2018 and posted eight dual wins on the year.
 
Senior Pally Ray also returns for the Green & Gold after tallying a 6-4 dual mark at the No. 4 and No. 5 singles positions last season. The 2017 All-A-10 selection also partnered with departed senior Daniel Gutierrez in doubles to go 6-3 from the No. 1 slot.
 
Senior Giuliano Buzoianu went 10-8 at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles positions in 2018 and will look to build on that season in his final campaign for the Green & Gold. This fall, Buzoianu also won his singles flight at the Joe Hunt Invitational.
 
Mason sophomore Ryan Charles will enter 2019 in the singles lineup and also will use his doubles prowess to make an impact in an area that should be improved this season. The Patriots also will welcome freshmen Chanasorn Nakaurai and Erick Rivas to the starting lineup, and be bolstered by freshman Michael Pollatos and Tomas Mariano. Senior Amir Alkhafaji also will provide depth for Mason.
 
"Team chemistry will play a big part in our success this season," head coach Jimmy Davis said. "This is one of the closet teams we've had here at Mason in terms of camaraderie, getting along and working together on the court. That will be a big factor in close matches and 4-3 matches where we struggled last year. I think we will have a bigger edge in those match ups this season. Our team has been progressing heading into the spring. Our freshmen have been developing steadily and they are going to have to play a big role in both doubles and singles. It will be a challenge for them, but I'm excited to see how they handle it."

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