ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's tennis returns to action after a 12-day break on Saturday, April 6, hosting the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The match is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.

FREE PIZZA!
Come early to grab some free pizza! There will be free pizza available for the first 50 Elon University students that arrive at the match between the Phoenix and the Runnin' Bulldogs.

THE SERIES
In seven all-time meetings, Elon owns a 6-1 lead in the series against the Runnin' Bulldogs. The Phoenix was last scheduled to play Gardner-Webb on Feb. 21, 2016, but the match was cancelled due to weather. In the last meeting on March 1, 2015, Gardner-Webb picked up its first win in the series with a 4-3 win at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. Elon won the first six meetings against the Runnin' Bulldogs.

SCOUTING GARDNER-WEBB
The Runnin' Bulldogs, who are 9-6 overall this season, have been on fire the last few weeks and have won nine of their last 10 matches following a 5-2 victory over USC Upstate on Thursday. Maximilian Scholl has a 14-1 record at the No. 1 singles position and is currently on a 14-match winning streak. He hasn't lost since Jan. 16 when he lost to No. 1-ranked Wake Forest's Petros Chrysochos. Millen Hurrion, who plays at the No. 2 singles position, was ranked as high as No. 80 in the ITA rankings and has a 12-2 record this season. He had his winning streak snapped on Thursday against USC Upstate's Francisco Neto. Scholl and Hurrion, who also play doubles together, were ranked the 26th-best doubles team in the first ITA rankings of the season. Gardner-Webb men's tennis team was picked to finish third in the Big South Conference Preseason Poll.

ABOUT ELON
Elon has an 15-4 mark this season following its 6-1 victory at College of Charleston on March 25, 2019, before spring break. Elon is currently on a four-match winning streak and owns a 9-0 mark at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center this season. The Phoenix is also 3-1 overall this season against CAA opponents with wins against William & Mary, James Madison, and CofC. The team's lone CAA loss came against UNCW. Elon has now won nine of its last 10 matches heading Saturday's matchup. 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 and a 4-3 victory over Rice.

RACKING UP CAA WEEKLY HONORS
Elon has won a total of six weekly honors this season. Mario Paccini claimed CAA Player of the Week honors on March 26 after Elon's wins against College of Charleston, USC Upstate and Winthrop. Kyle Frankel was named the CAA Player of the Week while doubles duo of Taylor Foote and Dino Bonetta claimed Doubles Team of the Week honors on Wednesday, March 13. Seniors Felipe Osses-Konig and Felipe Sarrasague have each earned CAA Player of the Week honors this season. Osses-Konig claimed the honor on Wednesday, Jan. 30, for his 4-0 singles record during the opening month of the season. Sarrasague has now earned the honor twice this season with each coming on Feb. 13 and Feb. 27.

THE SARRASAGUE SPECIAL
Felipe Sarrasague, the regining 2018 CAA Men's Tennis Player of the Year, has an 13-3 singles record this season, including two wins against ranked opponents in the spring. He had won 11 straight matches before falling to Frazier Rengifo of ETSU on Sunday, March 17. It was his first defeat since Elon's season-opening loss at Duke on Jan. 12. During his career, Sarrasague has won 56 career dual singles matches, which ranks 7th in program history. Last season, he became the fourth player in Elon's Division I era – all of which have come in the last six seasons – to earn conference Player of the Year. As a 20-match winner in 2017-18, Sarrasague posted a combined record of 20-11 since the start of the fall campaign. Fourteen of those victories came during the spring season with 12 of them coming at the No. 1 spot. During the year, Sarrasague put together an eight-match winning streak and while he lost eight matches this spring, three of the defeats came to nationally-ranked opponents. In doubles action, Sarrasague contributed 15 victories.

SINGLES SUCCESS
Elon is currently 71-26 overall in dual match singles action in 2019 and is continuing where it left off last season. During the 2018 season, Elon went 84-51 during dual-match singles action, winning 62.2 percent of its contests. Felipe Sarrasague led the team with 14 wins, while Kyle Frankel tallied 13. Sarrasague duplicated his freshman and sophomore success, taking 11 victories at the No. 1 spot while Frankel won 12 matches at No. 3 and was 8-2 in his last 10 individual matches. Mario Paccini also had great success, winning 12 matches on the year with 10 of those wins coming at No. 2 and the other two at No. 1 singles. He, Camilo Ponce and Felipe Osses-Konig were tied for third on the team with 12 individual wins.

WHO'S BACK?
This season, Elon returns the 2018 CAA Player of the Year and three-time First Team All-CAA honoree Sarrasague, as well as Second Team All-CAA honoree Mario Paccini. The Phoenix, which finished 16-8 last season, returns an experienced squad that includes five upperclassmen, led by seniors Sarrasague, Paccini, Osses-Konig and Taylor Foote. Junior Jacob Bicknell rounds out Elon's five upperclassmen. Kyle Frankel and Camilo Ponce are Elon's lone underclassmen heading into the 2019 season.

FRESH FACES
Elon University head men's tennis coach Michael Leonard announced the signing of Dino Bonetta (Rijeka, Croatia) and Maxwell Zucker (Dallas, Texas) for the 2019 season on Saturday, Jan. 5. Bonetta joins the Phoenix program as a transfer from the University of Detroit Mercy. Zucker arrives from Parish Episcopal High School in Dallas, Texas.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix hits the road on Thursday, April 11, when it faces Triad rival UNCG at 6 p.m. on the UNCG Tennis Courts.