Michael Leonard

Title

Director of Tennis and Head Men's Tennis Coach
Email

mleonard5@elon.edu
Phone

336-278-6737

Michael Leonard, the 2019 CAA Coach of the Year and seven-time conference Coach of the Year, completed his 20th and final season as the Elon University Director of Tennis and Head Men’s Tennis Coach in 2023-24 as the Phoenix finished its 10th year as a member of the Coastal Athletic Association.

Leonard’s teams amassed an impressive 300-176 (.630) record in dual-match action during his tenure and made three NCAA Tournament appearances. Under Leonard's leadership, the program amassed 78 all-conference selections, six conference players of the year, six conference rookies of the year, while three singles players and two doubles teams have earned bids to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships.

Leonard also had an impressive resume against conference opponents throughout his tenure. Although the Colonial Athletic Association does not have a conference season, Leonard guided his teams to a 15-5 mark against CAA teams in regular season play after finishing with an astounding 73-17 (.811) conference record in the Southern Conference from 2006-14. For his efforts in the Southern Conference, Leonard was named the SoCon Coach of the Year in 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014. He won his second-career CAA Coach of the Year honor in 2019 after he also earned the honor in 2016 after guiding the Phoenix to a 17-6 record and a spot in the CAA Semifinals.

Leonard announced during the 2024 season it would be his final campaign as the program's head coach. He guided the Phoenix to a third consecutive appearance in the CAA championship match, picking up his 300th career win in the semifinals of the tournament against Delaware. Overall, Elon completed the season with a 16-8 record, which included regular season conference victories against Campbell, Hampton and No. 68 William & Mary, and CAA Tournament wins over Campbell and Delaware. The maroon and gold went 10-2 in home contests and won impressive non-conference decisions against Gardner-Webb, East Tennessee State, Coastal Carolina and Davidson. Veljko Krstic made the All-CAA First Team for singles while fellow sophomore Oskar Antinheimo was selected to the All-CAA Second Team in singles. Juan Sengariz and Ben Zipay paired up to make the All-CAA Second Team in doubles, while Krstic and Dylan Heap earned a spot on the All-CAA Third Team for doubles.

In 2023, Elon posted a 15-9 record and advanced to the CAA Tournament final for the second consecutive season and the third time under Leonard. The Phoenix posted an impressive 10-2 home record and won CAA regular season matches against Hampton, College of Charleston, Delaware and North Carolina A&T. The maroon and gold also picked up impressive regular season victories over Campbell, Dartmouth, Davidson and Wofford. For the first time since 2019, Elon took home the CAA's Player of the Year and CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player awards, as junior Daniel Martin won them both. Freshman Veljko Krstic also became Elon's first CAA Rookie of the Year. Martin and Nicholas Campbell were both selected to the All-CAA First Team for both singles and doubles while Krstic made the All-CAA Second Team for singles. The tandem of Nicholas Condos and Ben Zipay were also chosen to the All-CAA Third Team for doubles. At the Elon Athletics Banquet, Martin earned the A.L. Hooke Scholar Athlete Award and Campbell took home the Robert C. Browne Sportsmanship Award.

Elon made it to the CAA Tournament final for the second time during Leonard's tenure in 2022, the first since the team won the tournament in 2019. The Phoenix finished the season with a 15-9 record, including an 8-3 mark at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. After starting the season 0-4, Elon reeled off eight consecutive victories, including wins against Campbell, Furman, Gardner-Webb and Coastal Carolina. After a pair of losses against ranked opponents in Charlotte and Clemson, the maroon and gold won five of its last seven contests leading into the conference tournament. Hosting the tournament at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, Elon defeated College of Charleston in the quarterfinals and upset top-seeded William & Mary in the semifinals before falling to UNCW in the final. For his performance during the regular season, Kyle Frankel was named to the All-CAA First Team. Daniel Martin and Nicholas Campbell were both named to the All-CAA Second Team, while Martin and Chung-Han Tsai were named All-CAA Second Team Doubles selections. Campbell was also named the Most Outstanding Performer at the 2022 CAA Tournament.

In 2021, Leonard led the maroon and gold to a 15-6 record, including an 11-1 record at Jimmy Powell Tennis Center and a 5-2 victory against William & Mary. Five of the six losses came against ranked opponents, Wake Forest (#12), VCU (#38), Liberty (#39), William & Mary and East Tennessee State (#61). The Phoenix was also ranked 68th in the final Oracle ITA Division I Men's Tennis Rankings. For their performance suring the regular season, Akram El Sallally and Kyle Frankel were named first-team selections, while Ponce was tabbed second team. Frankel and Ponce as well as El Sallaly and Tsai earned all-conference second team nods. Earlier in the season, Frankel was named the CAA Scholar-Athlete of the year in addition to being ranked No. 125 in the country in the Oracle ITA Singles Rankings back in March. Elon wrapped up its season when it fell to William & Mary in the CAA Championship Semifinals.

In 2020, Leonard guided the Phoenix to a 6-7 record with all six victories occurring at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. During the season, Kyle Frankel was named the CAA Men's Tennis Player of the Week on March 11 after going 2-0 at No. 1 singles against Charleston and Richmond. The Phoenix also finished its campaign on a three-match win streak, including victories over Charleston, Richmond, and Navy.

During Elon's CAA Championship season in 2019, Leonard guided the Phoenix to an impressive 21-5 record and its first-ever CAA crown in program history. The program's 21 wins was tied for the second-most in a single season under Leonard, finishing just two shy of Elon 23 victories in 2007. The Phoenix started the 2019 season with a 6-1 record, which included a six-match winning streak from Jan. 18 until Feb. 10. The winning streak included the program's first win over an ACC program since 2014 after a 5-2 victory at Clemson, as well as a 4-3 victory over Rice. Elon finished the 2019 regular season and conference tournament combined on a 10-match winning streak, which ended with Elon's epic 4-3 victory in the CAA Championship match against top-seeded UNCW. The Phoenix battled back from a 3-1 deficit and a venue change from the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center to the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro to win the championship. Frankel, who set a single-season program record with 21 wins during the spring, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. For the second-straight season Felipe Sarrasague was named the CAA Player of the Year and he earned his first-ever appearance in the NCAA Singles Championships. Sarrasague became just the eighth player in CAA history to earn back-to-back player of the year accolades and the first Elon player to earn back-to-back conference player of the year honors since Cameron Silverman in 2013 and 2014. Additionally, Mario Paccini, Frankel and Camilo Ponce earned All-CAA first team and second team honors in singles and doubles. In the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014 and the third overall for Leonard, the Phoenix dropped a hard-fought first round battle against No. 18-ranked Georgia.

With a veteran group in 2017-18 comprised of a redshirt senior, six juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen, Elon went 16-8 with its sixth-straight trip to at least the conference tournament semifinals. During the year, the Phoenix rattled off seven-straight victories, which is the longest streak since Elon won seven straight during the 2016 spring season. On Feb. 18, 2018, Leonard picked up his 200th head-coaching victory with a 7-0 sweep of Appalachian State. At season's end, Felipe Sarrasague was named the CAA's Player of the Year after going 14-8 in singles with a 12-8 mark at No. 1 while also posting a 13-7 doubles record. With the major award, Sarrasague became the fourth Player of the Year honoree in Elon's Division I history, all of which have come in a six-season span going back to 2013. Mario Paccini was also named a First Team All-CAA singles honoree and he and Neal Port took home First Team All-CAA doubles honors.

His 13th season with the program in 2016-17 saw the Phoenix post a 12-12 record with a fifth-straight trip to the semifinals of the conference tournament. Though struggling out of the gate, Elon responded nicely down the stretch to win its final three regular-season matches and earned a win in the CAA Quarterfinals over Hofstra to finish the season at .500. During the season, Leonard took his team to Hawaii for a study abroad trip over spring break. While on the trip, the Phoenix played a match against the Rainbow Warriors and earned a 6-1 victory over Hawaii. After the season, Sarrasague was named First Team All-CAA in singles while Chris Humphreys and Petar Tomic picked up First Team All-CAA in doubles. Both Paccini and Salvador Mijares earned Second Team All-CAA singles nods and Mijares paired with Port to earn Second Team All-CAA doubles honors.

Elon completed the 2015-16 campaign with a 17-6 overall record while earning the No. 3 seed in the 2016 CAA Men’s Tennis Championship. The 17 wins marked the third time in the last four seasons under Leonard’s guidance the Phoenix amassed 17 or more dual victories in a campaign. Then a freshman, Sarrasague was named the 2016 CAA Rookie of the Year, becoming the fifth player in program history to earn the honor with all five Rookie/Freshman of the Year awards coming under Leonard’s watch. Elon also placed six player on the All-CAA teams while Leonard was named the 2016 CAA Coach of the Year.

The Phoenix put together a 10-13 record in the program's first season in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2014-15. Stefan Fortmann became Elon's second player in program history to earn Conference Player of the Year honors. The Phoenix placed three on the All-Conference teams as well as earning Player of the Week honors three times.

Leonard continued his success with the men’s tennis team finishing off the 2013-14 season with a 19-5 season record and leading the Phoenix to its highest national ranking in program history (No. 39). Elon opened the 2014 season with one of the greatest upsets in collegiate tennis history, as the Phoenix topped seventh-ranked Duke, 4-3, in Durham. His team went undefeated in the Southern Conference at 9-0, including an impressive 7-1 home record. Elon went into the SoCon Tournament as the overall top seed and came out with a championship after beating Chattanooga, Appalachian State and Furman. Leonard took his team into the NCAA Tournament where they dropped a hard-fought match to second-seeded Tennessee. Individually, Leonard helped Cameron Silverman earn SoCon Player of the Year honors and qualify for an appearance in the NCAA singles tournament for the second-straight year en route to a national singles ranking that reached as high as No. 19. Additionally, Fortmann, Jordan Kaufman, Robert Lindgren, Brian Kowalski and Juan Madrid all earned all-league laurels.

Leonard led the Phoenix to the league’s regular season title for the fourth time in seven years in 2013. Elon earned the top seed in the SoCon Men’s Tennis Championship, advancing all the way to the title match. Leonard led the Phoenix to 17 victories in 2013 and a final ITA national ranking of No. 64. Leonard helped Silverman to SoCon Player of the Year honors, as Silverman earned a national singles ranking as high as No. 21 during the year and qualified for the NCAA singles tournament, becoming the first player in Elon history to win a first-round match. Silverman and Fortmann also earned a doubles ranking as high as No. 22 during the season and made an appearance in the NCAA doubles tournament. Including Silverman and Fortmann, Leonard had a total of five student-athletes earn all-league honors in 2013, including Kaufman, Madrid and Lindgren.

Leonard led one of his players to SoCon Freshman of the Year honors for the second straight season in 2012, as Fortmann ended the year with a 16-7 mark. Silverman followed up his rookie of the year campaign with a 17-7 record as a sophomore on his way to first-team all-conference honors. In all, Leonard had four players earn all-league accolades.

His 2011 squad went 18-7 overall and claimed the SoCon crown with a 9-1 ledger in league play. The Phoenix opened the year by upsetting No. 56 South Carolina by a 5-2 score. With a record of 6-5 after an extremely challenging early slate, Leonard's team reeled off eight consecutive victories and won 12 of its final 14 matches of the season. The Phoenix peaked at No. 65 in the ITA rankings during the year. The 2011 team boasted the league freshman of the year in Silverman while teammate Alberto Rojas earned the league's Don Bunch/Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award. Leonard took home SoCon Coach of the Year honors thanks to his team's performance.

With a young team void of any seniors in the starting lineup and a challenging schedule in 2010, the Phoenix competed against some of the nation’s best to begin the season. Elon continued to improve as the season went on and earned one of the four seeds to the league tournament with a 6-4 SoCon record. The fourth-seeded Phoenix upset top-seeded College of Charleston, 4-3, in the semifinals to advance to the championship match for a fourth straight season. The title match came down to the wire with UNCG managing the 4-3 victory over the Phoenix.

In 2009, Elon produced a 21-6 mark, its second 20-win season under Leonard’s tutelage. With a 9-1 regular-season league mark, the Phoenix came up just short in the SoCon Tournament championship match, falling to Furman in the final match. Damon Gooch and Philip Nemec became the first-ever Elon players to be selected to the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championship. Gooch, a four-time first-team All-SoCon honoree, competed in both singles and doubles, with Nemec as his doubles partner. Gooch ranked 20th individually and the doubles tandem of Gooch and Nemec ranked 56th.

Leonard guided the Phoenix to a 17-9 mark – 7-2 in the league – en route to a 2008 second-place finish in the conference regular season and tournament despite relying on four freshmen in the six singles spots. Gooch, one of Leonard’s first recruits, reached No. 72 in the national rankings. Four players were named all-conference with Oscar Podlewski becoming the Phoenix’s second SoCon Freshman of the Year in three seasons.

In 2007, Leonard led Elon to its first-ever SoCon Tournament championship in any sport, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Fashioning a 23-3 overall record, Elon surpassed its 1990 NAIA Division I national championship team (22-3) as the winningest squad in Phoenix men’s tennis history. Leonard was a junior playing at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles on the 1990 team. Of the 2007 squad’s 23 wins, 13 were decided in shutout fashion. Elon finished the year ranked 44th in the country.

The 2007 season also saw the Phoenix forge a perfect 12-0 mark against SoCon opponents and losses only to nationally-ranked foes Clemson, Duke and Wake Forest. Elon’s 14-match winning streak entering NCAA tournament action marked the program’s longest streak since the 1993 squad won 17 matches in a row. The Phoenix finished 3-3 against nationally-ranked teams and 20-0 against unranked programs.

Leonard led Elon from a last-place finish in the SoCon in 2005 to a share of first place in 2006 and the outright title in 2007. The remarkable turnaround saw the Phoenix go from 5-17 overall and 0-10 in the SoCon in 2005 to 19-5 overall and 8-1 in the SoCon in 2006 with a squad made up of all underclassmen.

Gooch became Elon’s first SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2006 and was honored with Elon’s first-ever national ranking among NCAA Division I players at No. 120. Gooch and Austin Fenn also earned the program’s first Division I doubles ranking (77th).

The 2006 squad also became the first Elon men’s tennis team to receive the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Award. Leonard has had at least one player earn ITA Scholar-Athlete distinction in each of his years as head coach.

In his first season at Elon, Leonard coached ESPN The Magazine Second Team Academic All-American Pramote Malasitt to Stein H. Basnight Outstanding Athlete honors in 2005, recognizing him as the Elon male athlete of the year.

Prior to coaching the Phoenix, Leonard served as the tennis director at the Raleigh Racquet Club (1995-2004) in Raleigh, N.C., where he was in charge of one of the largest junior programs in the South with nearly 200 juniors. He was also responsible for coordinating and implementing clinics, facilitating tennis and social activities for members and handling all financial operations of the tennis program. During his tenure, Leonard coached many nationally-ranked juniors, including two national champions.

A 1991 Elon graduate, Leonard was named all-conference and all-district during each of his four years of competition. In 1991, he was tabbed the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and earned Stein H. Basnight Outstanding Athlete honors. An NAIA All-American in both 1990 and 1991, he was inducted into the Elon Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

Leonard continued his playing career after his college days, becoming the North Carolina state champion in 1992 and earning a No. 1 ranking in the North Carolina Men’s Open Division. He played professional tennis in 1993-94, during which time he competed in circuit tournament competitions throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, England, Spain and Portugal, achieving a world ranking.

Leonard and his wife, Amy, have two daughters, Olivia and Julia.

Michael Leonard Coaching Records
All-Time Record	300-176 (.630)
2005	5-17 (0-10 SoCon)
2006	19-5 (8-1 SoCon)	SoCon Regular Season Co-Champion • SoCon Coach of the Year
2007	23-3 (9-0 SoCon)	SoCon Champion • NCAA Tournament • SoCon Regular Season Champion • SoCon Coach of the Year
2008	17-9 (7-2 SoCon)	SoCon Runner-up
2009	21-6 (9-1 SoCon)	SoCon Runner-up
2010	9-14 (6-4 SoCon)	SoCon Runner-up
2011	18-7 (9-1 SoCon)	SoCon Regular Season Champions • SoCon Coach of the Year
2012	9-15 (5-5 SoCon)
2013	17-8 (8-2 SoCon)	SoCon Champions • SoCon Finals • SoCon Coach of the Year
2014	19-5 (9-0 SoCon)	SoCon Champions • NCAA Tournament • SoCon Coach of the Year
2015	10-13	First season in the CAA • CAA Semifinals
2016	17-6	CAA Semifinals • CAA Coach of the Year
2017	12-12	CAA Semifinals
2018	16-8	CAA Semifinals
2019	21-5	CAA Champions • NCAA Tournament • CAA Coach of the Year
2020	6-7	Season halted due to COVID-19
2021	15-6	CAA Semifinals
2022	15-9	CAA Final
2023	15-9	CAA Final
2024	16-8	CAA Final