STATESBORO - Georgia Southern freshman Ana Tsitavets' three-set thriller at No. 2 singles clinched a 4-3 Sun Belt Conference women's tennis victory over visiting James Madison, handing the Dukes their first league loss of the year.

The Eagles improved to 16-4 overall and 7-2 in the Sun Belt with the victory, tying a program high for Sun Belt wins in a season, first achieved in 2021. James Madison falls to 11-7 overall and 7-1 in the league with the loss. It was the first matchup between the two new Sun Belt rivals since 1985 and the first win for the Eagles over the Dukes since 1982.

James Madison took the doubles point from the Eagles with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, leaving the Eagles a bit of work in singles play.

But Georgia Southern opened singles play strong, taking the first set in four of the six matches. Ninon Martinache quickly tied the score at 1-all with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Daria Munteanu at No. 5 singles.

All five other singles matches, however, went to third sets, stretching the match to more than four hours. Lindsay Tulenko put the Eagles up 2-1 with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 win over Ines Oliveira at No. 4 singles, thenSilvia Martinez made it a 3-1 lead with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Kylie Moulin at No. 1 singles.

James Madison evened things up with wins at No. 6 and No. 3 singles, putting all eyes on Court 2 and the No. 2 singles match between Tsitavets and Daria Afanesyeva. Tsitavets used two late breaks of serve in the third set to earn the 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 win and clinch the victory.

"That was a great match," Georgia Southern Head Women's Tennis Coach Sean McCaffrey said. "One of the best college tennis matches that I've ever been a part of. The amount of intelligence that went into every single point. We knew that they were going to be steady on the baseline. We tried to do everything we could to disrupt that. We did a pretty good job. I feel like we've developed so much in terms of having confidence and believing in ourselves over our matches with Coastal and USA, we've learned a lot. UNF - finding a way to still dig deep even though it looks like it may be over. I don't think anyone expected, even with a 3-1 lead, that we were going to run away with it. I'm extremely proud of our team and how they fought today for this win."

Results
Singles
Silvia Martinez (GS) def. Kylie Moulin (JMU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Ana Tsitavets (GS) def. Daria Afanesyeva (JMU) 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
Daniela Voloh (JMU) def. Nanaka Kijima (GS) 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2
Lindsay Tulenko (GS) def. Ines Oliveira (JMU) 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
Ninon Martinache (GS) def. Daria Munteanu (JMU) 6-4, 6-4
Hope Moulin (JMU) def. Paula Hijos (GS) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5

Doubles
Silvia Martinez/Liv Ryan (GS) and Kylie Moulin/Ines Oliveira (JMU) 6-6, unfinished
Daria Munteanu/Daniela Voloh (JMU) def. Sonja Keranen/Ana Tsitavets (GS) 7-5
Daria Afanesyeva/Reka Matko (JMU) def. Lindsay Tulenko/Ninon Martinache (GS) 6-3