ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's tennis team (12-8) wraps up its regular season on Friday when it takes on North Carolina A&T (15-1) at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The contest will begin at 3 p.m.
 
COVERAGE

• The match will begin with doubles at 3 p.m. and conclude with singles shortly after.
• Live scoring for Friday's contest can be found here.
• Admission to the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center is free. 
• Updates will be provided during the match by the program's Twitter account, @ElonMTennis. 

 
SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTH CAROLINA A&T

• Elon has never lost to North Carolina A&T, as the Phoenix holds a perfect 14-0 mark against the Aggies entering Friday's contest. 
• Elon won the most recent meeting between the teams 6-1 on February 22, 2022, at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. 
• 10 of the 14 matchups in the series have been home matches for Elon, including each of the last six. 
• The Phoenix has won 12 of the 14 meetings between the teams by either a 7-0 or 6-1 score. 
• This will be the first meeting between the teams as CAA opponents, as the Aggies joined the conference prior to the start of this season.   

 
ABOUT THE PHOENIX

• Elon is coming off a strong spring in which it went 15-9 and finished as the runner-up at the Colonial Athletic Association Championship.
• Among the returnees is Nicholas Campbell, the Most Outstanding Player at the CAA Tournament and an All-CAA second-team singles selection.
• Others include senior Nicholas Condos; juniors Daniel Martin (All-CAA second team in singles and doubles), Luke Queiroz and Ben Zipay; and sophomore Esteban Penagos.
• The Phoenix welcomes three freshmen in Oskar Antinheimo, Veljko Krstic and Jake Pettingell. Antinheimo, from Helsinki, earned a UTR rating of 12 and has been ranked as high as No. 483 in the ITF Junior Rankings in singles play. A native of Belgrade, Serbia, Krstic has been ranked as high as No. 175 in the ITF Junior Rankings in both singles and doubles. Pettingell, from Sarasota, Fla., achieved a top USTA ranking of No. 22 in the state of Florida. Elon also adds Ahmed Hosni for the spring season. A native of Cairo, Egypt, Hosni has been ranked as high as No. 197 in the ITF Junior Rankings and reached two ITF Junior singles finals in 2022.  
• Elon is led by head coach Michael Leonard, who is in his 19th season at the helm.

LAST TIME OUT

• Elon picked up a 6-1 Senior Night victory over UNC Greensboro on April 11 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, snapping its two-match losing streak. 
• Luke Queiroz improved to 3-0 on the season in doubles, as he won 6-1 with Daniel Martin at the No. 3 spot. All three of his wins this season have come with different partners. He is now 7-1 in doubles in his career. 
• Playing No. 1 doubles for the second straight match, Oskar Antinheimo and Veljko Krstic picked up a 6-2 victory to clinch the doubles point. It was their fifth victory together as a team and their first at the No. 1 spot.  
• Krstic also won his first career match at No. 2 singles, as he defeated UNC Greensboro's John Gabelic 6-1, 6-1. It was the freshman's 14th win of the season. 
• Ben Zipay put the Phoenix up 3-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 result over Devon Moskowitz on Court 5. The junior now has double-digit wins on the season in both singles (10) and doubles (10).
• Senior Nicholas Condos clinched a Phoenix victory with a 6-3, 6-4 win over David Flisberg at No. 3 singles. It was his first win in three tries this season at the No. 3 spot as he improved to 5-5 overall on the campaign. 
• After the Spartans won at No. 6 singles, Daniel Martin tied Krstic for the team lead with his 14th singles triumph of the season. He defeated Timofiy Khrystyuk 7-5, 6-2 on Court 1. 
• Antinheimo wrapped up singles with a 6-4, 6-2 win on Court 4 against Christopher Johns. It was his 12th victory of the season and his second at the No. 4 spot. He trails only Krstic and Martin in singles wins. 
• This was the ninth time this season the Phoenix has won at least five singles decisions. It was also Elon's ninth win of the season by either a 7-0 or 6-1 final score. 

 
KRSTIC ELEVATING

• Freshman Veljko Krstic has won nine of his last 10 singles matches and is tied with Daniel Martin for a team-best 14 victories this season. 
• 13 of Krstic's singles wins this season have come at the No. 3 position while his most recent came at the No. 2 spot. Eight of his last nine wins have come in straight sets. 
• The Belgrade, Serbia, native is 3-1 in final sets this season. Two of the wins came in match tiebreaks while the other came in a full third set. 
• Krstic is also 6-4 in doubles this season with three different partners. He is 5-3 with fellow freshman Oskar Antinheimo.

 
DAN THE MAN

• Daniel Martin's 14 singles wins this season are tied with freshman Veljko Krstic for the most on the team. He also has nine doubles victories.
• Martin has won 31 singles matches since the start of last season, the most of any Elon player in that span. 
• His win against UNC Greensboro on April 11 was his 14th at the No. 1 position since joining the Phoenix, as his previous 17 victories came in the Nos. 2, 3 and 5 spots.
• The junior is 31-9 in his singles career at Elon, with 24 of the 31 victories coming in straight sets. 
• After earning a singles victory in the No. 1 spot against No. 35 North Carolina State on Feb. 26, Daniel Martin was selected as the CAA's Player of the Week on Feb. 28. 
• It was Martin's second CAA weekly honor of the season, as he also won Co-Doubles Team of the Week with partner Oskar Antinheimo on Jan. 25.

VERSATILE ZIPAY

• Junior Ben Zipay holds a 20-6 record across doubles and singles this season. 
• Zipay is 10-3 in singles, with a 3-0 mark at No. 5 and a 7-3 record at No. 6.
• Nine of Zipay's 10 singles victories this season have come in straight sets. 
• With a singles victory against UNC Greensboro on April 11, Zipay became the first Elon player this season to reach double-digit wins in both singles and doubles. 
• The Osprey, Fla., native is also 11-2 in doubles with partner Nicholas Condos. The tandem has been tabbed as the CAA's Doubles Team of the Week on two occasions. 
• Zipay has the best winning percentage in both singles and doubles for anyone on the team that has made more than two appearances.   

DOUBLES SUCCESS

• The Phoenix has won the doubles point in eight of its last 10 matches. Elon is 30-18 in completed doubles contests this season.
• Three Elon doubles teams have combined to win four CAA weekly honors this season. 
• Oskar Antinheimo and Veljko Krstic took home Doubles Team of the Week on March 28, becoming the third different Elon team to win the award. The freshmen are 4-3 together on the season. 
• Nicholas Condos and Ben Zipay have taken home Doubles Team of the Week on Feb. 8 and Feb. 21. The duo is 11-2 playing Nos. 2 and 3 doubles.
• Daniel Martin and Oskar Antinhiemo also won Co-Doubles Team of the Week on Jan. 25
• Antinheimo and Martin also cracked the ITA's Top 60 Doubles Rankings on Feb. 8, checking it at No. 55. They are the first Elon team to feature in the ranking since 2017.
• The duo of Martin and Nicholas Campbell is 5-3 at the No. 1 spot in Elon's last nine matches. Martin is 8-6 on the season at No. 1 with Antinheimo and Campbell. 

FRESHMAN PRODUCTION

• Freshmen Oskar Antinheimo, Ahmed Hosni and Veljko Krstic have combined for 31 singles and 12 doubles wins this season. 
• Of Elon's 47 victories in Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 singles this season, 31 were registered by freshmen. 31 of the Phoenix's 72 total singles wins have been delivered by freshmen. 
• Antinheimo is 12-6 on the season playing Nos. 4, 5 and 6 singles, and his 12 singles victories this season are the third most on the team. He has seven set wins in singles by 6-0 or 6-1 scores, one behind Daniel Martin for the most on the team. 
• The Helsinki, Finland, native has already won three weekly CAA honors – CAA Co-Doubles Team of the Week on Jan. 25, CAA Player of the Week on Feb. 14 and CAA Doubles Team of the Week on March 28. 
• Krstic has won 12 of his last 14 matches in the Nos. 2 and 3 positions and is 14-4 on the season. He won his first career CAA weekly honor on March 28 when he took home Doubles Team of the Week with Antinheimo. 

IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME

• Elon is 9-1 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center this season. The Phoenix is 9-2 in home contests, as the team lost its only match this season at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center. 
• Elon's win against Dartmouth on March 21 secured an 11th straight season with a winning home record. The last time the Phoenix did not finish with a winning home record was 2012. 
• Since the start of the 2013 season, Elon is 97-23 in home matches. 

 
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA A&T

• The Aggies enter Friday with a 15-1 record, which includes an 8-1 tally away from home.
• Prior to winning 12 matches last season, the Aggies had won just seven matches in its previous seven seasons combined. 
• North Carolina A&T is 1-1 this season against league opponents, with the win coming against Delaware and the loss to UNC Wilmington. 
• The Aggies began the season on a 13-match winning streak, which was snapped by the Seahawks on April 11. 
• In their most recent match on April 18, North Carolina A&T picked up a road victory against North Carolina Wesleyan. 
• Ian Pedersen leads the Aggies with 14 singles wins this season, with 11 coming at the No. 5 spot. Four other players have double-digit singles victories – Eder Blanco (13), Vasil Ivanov (13), Alex Martinez (13) and Esteban Lopez (11)
• Ivanov ended last season on a nine-match winning streak and has won 22 of his last 23 completed singles bouts.  
• The Aggies hold an 83% winning percentage in singles this year, as they are 76-16 in completed contests and have double-digit victories at all six positions. 
• North Carolina A&T has won 11 doubles points this season and is 27-17 in completed matches. 
• The Aggies are led by second-year head coach Dejon Bivens. 

 
UP NEXT
Elon transitions to postseason play when it competes at the CAA Tournament on April 27-30 in Williamsburg, Va. William & Mary will host the tournament.