The Elon University men’s tennis team clinched its second straight Southern Conference regular season title with a 6-1 win over Appalachian State University.
The Phoenix jumped out to an early 1-0 lead by taking the doubles point. Juniors Juan Madrid and Stefan Fortmann eased past junior Steve Lake and freshman Jack Maddocks 8-3 at No. 3 doubles. Soon after at No. 1 doubles, Senior Cameron Silverman and junior Jordan Kaufman defeated sophomore Zack Bost and senior Sebastien King by the same score line.
The Mountaineers leveled the score by taking the first singles match of the afternoon. Jan-Willem Kleynhas defeated Madrid at No. 6 singles in straight sets 6-1, 6-1. But the Phoenix came storming back, winning the next five matches to seal the victory.
Silverman didn’t drop a single game in his 6-0, 6-0 straight sets win over King at No. 1 singles. Kaufman made it 3-1 Phoenix with a straight sets victory of his own. The junior beat Maddocks at No. 5 singles 6-3, 6-1. Junior Brian Kowalski sealed the victory for Elon with a win at No. 4 singles. Kowalski edged out freshman Daniel Hoang in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.
Fortmann extended Elon’s lead with a win at No. 2 singles. The native of Wartburg, South Africa, outmatched freshman Oliver Casey in straight sets 6-3, 6-1. Sophomore Robert Lindgren closed out the match, winning a decisive super tiebreaker over Bost. Lindgren dropped the first set in a tiebreaker but rallied back to win the second set and super tiebreaker winning 6-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8).
With the win, the Phoenix improves to 16-3 on the year and completed a perfect run in conference play with a record of 9-0. The loss drops Appalachian State to 9-12 this season and 6-3 in conference play.
Elon will wrap up its regular season slate on Saturday, April 12 when East Carolina University comes to town. It will be senior day the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center as Elon’s lone senior, Cameron Silverman, will be honored. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m.