The Elon University men’s tennis team defeated local rival the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for the first time in four years, winning in decisive fashion 6-1 on April 2 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
The Phoenix took all three doubles matches to take the early lead. Junior Brian Kowalski and sophomore Robert Lindgren won first at No. 2 doubles, defeating senior Ahmet Sarioglu and sophomore Daniel Mack 8-3. Juniors Stefan Fortmann and Juan Madrid clinched the doubles point at No. 3 doubles with their 8-5 win over junior Cameron Smith and sophomore Gaston Murray. Senior Cameron Silverman and junior Jordan Kaufman completed the doubles sweep at No. 1 doubles, edging past sophomore James Dougherty and junior Randy Phillips 8-6.
Elon continued to roll into the singles portion of the match. Kowalski made quick work of Murray at No. 4 singles, winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. At No. 2 singles, Fortmann had to work a bit harder to earn his win. The junior won the hard-fought first set over Dougherty 6-4 before cruising in the second set, winning 6-1 to take the match.
Lindgren sealed the victory for the Phoenix with a 6-2, 7-6 straight sets win over Phillips at No. 3 singles. Kaufman continued to pile it on, making it 5-0 Elon. The junior also won in straight sets, battling past Mack at No. 5 singles 7-5, 6-4. Silverman wrapped up the victory with his win at No. 1 singles. The 36th ranked singles player in the nation split the first two sets 6-3, 6-7 with Sarioglu before winning in a decisive super tiebreaker 10-4.
Sophomore Ismael Sanchez Delfin was the lone player to lose a match for Elon. The sophomore lost in a first set tiebreaker 7-6, and was unable to regain any momentum, dropping the second set 6-1 to Smith at No. 6 singles.
The Phoenix will head back on the road this weekend for a pair of Southern Conference matchups. On Saturday, April 5, Elon will take on Furman University, before staying in South Carolina to take on Wofford on Sunday, April 6. Both matches are scheduled for 1 p.m. starts.