Agate

ELON, N.C. – It came down to the wire, but the Elon University men’s tennis team battled the visiting Dartmouth Big Green to a 4-3 win on Wednesday, March 20, at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center for its fifth straight win.
 
Tied at 3-all with one match remaining on the court, Elon’s (9-4) Brian Kowalski pulled out the three-set victory for the Phoenix, rallying for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, decision over Dartmouth’s Brandon DeBot at No. 5 singles. With Kowalski’s win, Elon improved to 9-4 on the year with the victory over the Big Green.
 
“Today was a good win over a solid Dartmouth team with a lot of depth,” said Phoenix head coach Michael Leonard. “I am extremely proud of Brian Kowalski and the heart he showed out there to pull out the final match that gave our team a win. We performed well in doubles today and our top guys really played well again and gave us a great opportunity to be in the match.”
 
The Phoenix won the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead against the Big Green. Cameron Silverman and Stefan Fortmann, ranked 34th in the nation as a doubles team, were the first to finish at No. 1, topping Xander Centenari and Brandon DeBot, 8-4. Kowalski and Robert Lindgren clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 decision versus Brendan Tannenbaum and Alex de Chatellus at No. 2.
 
Fortmann continued his solid play in singles to extend Elon’s lead to 2-0 after defeating Chris Kipouras at No. 2 in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0. Fortmann has won eight straight matches and improves to 10-2 on the year with the win.
 
Silverman was the next to finish for the maroon and gold, as the nation’s 38th ranked singles player claimed a 6-1, 6-3, victory at No. 1 versus Dartmouth’s Centenari.
 
The Big Green stormed back to take the next three singles matches to tie the match at 3-all, but Kowalski proved to be resilient at No. 5 singles for the Phoenix, earning his fifth straight win.
 
Elon returns to action on March 23 at Chattanooga.