ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's tennis doubles duo Neal Port and Salvador Mijares checked in at No. 42 in the nation this week in the ITA preseason national rankings.
 
The two had a stellar fall campaign together, which included a win over the nation's 33rd-ranked doubles tandem in North Carolina's Jack Murray and Ronnie Schneider, 7-5, 7-5 in the ITA Carolina Regionals. In all, Port and Mijares won three matches in the event to reach the quarterfinals before falling to Duke's Nicholas Alvarez and Nick Stachowiak.
 
A season ago, Port and Mijares played No. 3 doubles for the Phoenix and posted a record of 5-7. Elon used 18 different doubles pairing throughout the 2016 spring season. This marks the first time either student-athlete has been ranked in the doubles poll.
 
The Phoenix open the 2017 spring season on Monday, Jan. 16, on the road against Duke at 3 p.m. The Blue Devils received votes in the preseason ITA poll, which was cut down from ranking 75 teams this season to 25 teams. Elon's match in Durham is the first of six matches away from the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center before coming home for the first time on Wednesday, Feb. 8, to face Liberty.