After a tough year last year in which the club did not qualify for Nationals, the James Madison Dukes Club Tennis Team, looks to make it back onto the National stage. 

The Dukes feature as the second team previewed by VAVEL, with the UMBC Retrievers being the first team which was previewed. VAVEL talked with one of the clubs' co-presidents, Kristian Kc, about his club's chances at one of the coveted bids for Nationals this year. 

The Dukes made the quarterfinals of the gold bracket of the USTA Mid-Atlantic Sectionals, losing to eventual National Qualifier, UVA
The Dukes made the quarterfinals of the gold bracket of the USTA Mid-Atlantic Sectionals, losing to eventual National Qualifier, UVA

Club Officers:

President: Kristian Kc & Jackie Dillon

Vice President: Alex Slappey

Treasurer: Melissa Cote

Secretary: Ellie White

Community Service Chair: Daniel Paunovic

Social Chair: Alan Burgess

Key Returners and Departures

Returners

Brittany Burke: Women’s singles

Kristian Kc: Men’s singles, Men's doubles

Jackie Dillon: Women's doubles, mixed doubles

Galen McNaughton: Men’s doubles

Ellie White: Women’s doubles, mixed doubles

Alex Slappey: Men’s doubles, mixed doubles

Gemma Howard: Women's doubles, mixed doubles

Jalal Ahmed: Men’s singles, mixed doubles

Melissa Cote: Women's doubles

Departures

Jeff Smalls: Men's singles, Men's doubles

Cameron Bonser: Men's singles, Men’s doubles, mixed doubles

Last Year’s Results

Fall Invitational (Hilton Head): Loss in finals of the "FUN" bracket 

Maryland Fall Invitational: Quarterfinals loss to Delaware A

Virginia Fall Invitational: Loss to UVA A

USTA Mid-Atlantic Sectionals Tournament: Gold Bracket/National Qualifier loss to University of Virginia

Duel in the District: Won Sportsmanship award

James Madison Invitational: Loss to UMBC in Finals 

The club poses with one of the team's awards
The club poses with one of the team's awards

Expectations Headed Into Next Season

We had the pleasure to talk to Kristian Kc and here his thoughts on his team chances on a Nationals bid this year, "We believe this  is prime time to go to Nationals. We didn't make it last year due to the heavy level of competition, but we're looking to come back and reclaim our spot. Unfortunately, graduation took our star player Jeff Smalls away from us, who we miss a lot, but I do believe we can bounce back with this years all star roster. Sectional tryouts are almost here and a lot of members and hoping to get their shot at representing JMU. But as of right now, next stop is Hilton Head!"

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About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.