ELON, N.C. – The Elon men’s tennis team’s three-match winning streak came to halt today, March 5, as the Radford Highlanders defeated the Phoenix, 6-1, at The Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. Elon drops to 6-5 on the year, while Radford improves to 4-4. 

Elon’s top doubles duo of Phillip Nemec and Chase Helpingstine, ranked 40^th in the country, easily won its match against Ivan Salec and Thomas Dehaen, 8-3, improving to 7-1 on the season.

Radford’s Nicholas Sayer and Paul Boslet defeated Thomas Darling and Eric Turner, 8-4, on court three leaving the doubles point up to the match at number two. Alberto Rojas and Cameron Silverman found themselves down 5-4 half way through their match against Igor Ogrizek and Stijin Muelmans, but the duo was able to win four of the next five games to take the 8-6 victory and win the doubles point for the Phoenix.

It was all Radford in singles play as Boslet defeated Darling, 6-3, 6-0, and Meulemans defeated Helpingstine, 6-0, 6-3, at number six and four, respectively.

Both Nemec and Turner fell 6-4, 6-4 on courts one and three to Salec and Ogrizek. Ogrizek’s win over Turner clinched the match for the Highlanders with two matches still in play. 

Silverman won his first set over Sayer, 6-4, at number two then dropped the second set 7-5. A tiebreak was played in place of a third set in which Sayer won 10-5 to improve the Radford lead to 5-1. In the last contested match, Rojas fell to Dehaen, 5-7, 7-6 (4), 1-0 (10-5), giving the Highlanders the final 6-1 win.

The Elon men’s tennis team will open up Southern Conference play next Saturday, March 12, at Davidson in a 1 p.m. match. 

-- ELON --