The Elon University men’s tennis team broke into the win column with a 5-2 win over Campbell University today, Feb. 11. The Phoenix took the last three singles matches to earn its first win of 2015.
The Camels looked keen to keep Elon winless by winning the first doubles match of the day. Freshman Lorenz Schwab and senior Adrien Rossignon defeated sophomore Chris Humphreys and redshirt-freshman Neal Port 8-3 at No. 3 doubles.
Elon responded with wins at No. 2 and No. 1 doubles to take the early 1-0 lead. Seniors Juan Madrid and Jordan Kaufman doubled up sophomore Nicolas Rakitin and freshman Lukas Schaefer 8-4 at No. 2 doubles, then seniors Stefan Fortmann and Bran Kowalski clinched the point with an 8-5 win over senior Steven Billington and freshman Johnathan O’Neal at No. 1 doubles.
In singles play, Kaufman eased passed Schaefer 6-1, 6-2 to doubles Elon’s advantage. However, Rakitin put Campbell on the board with a 6-3, 6-4 straight sets win over freshman Josh Luck. Sophomore Jean-Marc Krone then leveled the contest at 2 apiece with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Madrid.
The Phoenix came roaring back winning the next three matches to win the match. First, Kowalski outlasted O’Neal at No. 4 singles winning 6-4, 7-5. Next, Fortmann clinched the win at No. 1 singles with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over Billington. Finally, Humphreys extended Elon’s lead with a 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 1-0 (10-5) win over Schwab at No. 6 singles.
Elon will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 14, with a doubleheader against North Carolina A&T and Presbyterian College. Elon will open up against the Aggies at 10:00 a.m. and then host Presbyterian at 1:30 p.m..