When recalling his favorite memory of playing for Elon University Men’s Tennis Coach, Michael Leonard, senior Ben Zipay gave an unexpected answer.
His favorite memory of Leonard, who is retiring after 20 years of coaching at Elon following the 2024 season, was actually during a 2022 match he lost.
“I was playing this guy from Miami University who was just destroying me,” Zipay said. “In my mind, I'm like, ‘This guy's just better than me.’’’
However, Leonard would refuse to allow Zipay to go out like that. He came onto the court where Zipay was trying to hold off the superior opponent, and despite the match seemingly out of reach, Leonard stayed with Zipay for the whole match, giving him advice the entire time.
Zipay ultimately ended up still losing the match, but he made an incredible comeback and was very close to winning. Even with the loss, Zipay learned a lot thanks to Leonard’s mentorship.
“That was the first match I played where I actually believed I could make that next step in my game and then that year, I ended up having my best year here,” Zipay said.
Zipay’s experience is just one of many that occurred during Leonard’s 20-year tenure at Elon University as the head coach of the men’s tennis team. Under Leonard’s leadership, the program has found enormous success.
Leonard is the winningest coach in Elon men's tennis history with a record of 295-173 over his 20-year career. He is a seven-time conference Coach of the Year and led Elon to six regular season championships.
With a win on April 20 in the semifinals of the 2024 CAA Men’s Tennis Championship, Leonard reached the significant milestone of 300 career wins.
Under Leonard's mentorship, the program has shaped many student athletes like Zipay with 74 all-conference selections, six conference Players of the Year and six conference Rookies of the Year during his time at Elon.
Also, Leonard has led the program to the NCAA Tournament three times. Most notably, the Phoenix went 23-3 in 2007 advancing to the NCAA Division I National Tournament for the first time in program history.
“We were always kind of in contention,” Leonard said. “I think 80% of the time we were first or second in the conference and always competing for championships.”
Looking back at his time with Elon, Leonard said that his favorite moments were the championships, but also the 2014 win against Duke University, who was ranked seventh in the nation at the time.
“The biggest win was probably beating Duke in 2014 because that was a huge moment for the program to do that on the road,” Leonard said.
An Elon alum and Elon Sports Hall of Famer, Leonard said that it was special building a program that he once played for.
“It's kind of cool to see that even teammates of mine become friends with my players, that's been special to see,” Leonard said.
A focal point of Leonard’s program building over the last 20 years was his constant use of international players. Zipay, who is the only current American player on the team, said that this benefited the team in social aspects.
“These have been the best four years of my life, and a big part of that is how he coaches and how he's brought these people from different parts of the world,” Zipay said. “I'm the only American on this team, which has given me a ton of perspective.”
According to Assistant Men’s Tennis Coach Garcian D’Cruz, Leonard’s coaching style can be summed up in three words: “tough but fair.”
“He's always been somebody who doesn't really sugarcoat things, which is important because it's communicated properly to the players, but also he'll give credit where credit's due,” D’Cruz said. “You will never feel like you don't have the opportunity, he's always going to give you that chance but he's going to be honest with you about what it takes to get there.”
D’Cruz said it has been really special to learn under Leonard’s tutelage.
“He’s taught me the understanding to be patient with yourself as a coach,” D’Cruz said. “I've made mistakes this season, but he's always kind of walked me through it and said that it's part of what it takes to become a great coach.”
Zipay also said he has learned a lot from Leonard, even beyond the tangible, technical tennis things.
According to Zipay, Leonard taught him how to be a competitor. Zipay said that when he came into college he was a little bit too nice. He was a good player but playing against other guys who are just as good, required him to learn from his coach on how to find something within himself to be a competitor.
“He told me that if you want to compete with these guys, you have to step up to that level, and he always talks about how that will help you later in life as well because there's going to be instances in life for you to step up, stand up for yourself, and not always be the nice guy,” Zipay said.
Looking towards the future, D’Cruz said that he’s going to miss the relationship-building and culture that Leonard creates.
“That energy that we have when we come here every season, the guys wanting to spend time with each other, getting to know the coaches, getting to know the game plan, being passionate about it, that's all something that he's built here,” D’Cruz said. “I think that's going to be the hardest thing to replace and the thing we're gonna miss the most.”
Leonard said that after 20 years it was time for a fresh start. He plans to work as the Director of Racquet Sports at Chapel Hill Country Club.
“It's just time for a new challenge,” Leonard said. “I've enjoyed my time here, it's been a great experience but I'm looking at my family who are in the Raleigh area, and I'm moving back to that area. I’ve got a great opportunity to work in the Triangle.”