ELON, N.C. – Coming off its first win of the season earlier this week, the Elon University men's tennis team (1-3) plays two more matches at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center over the weekend. The Phoenix will square off with CAA opponent Campbell on Saturday at 1 p.m. before taking on UNC Asheville on Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

• Saturday's match against Campbell will begin with doubles at 1 p.m. followed by singles shortly after.
• Live scoring for Saturday's match can be accessed by clicking here.
• Play on Sunday against UNC Asheville will start with doubles at 2 p.m. before closing with singles. 
• Live scoring for Sunday's match is available here.
• Admission to the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center is free. 
• For live updates throughout the match, follow @ElonMTennis on Twitter and Instagram. 

 
THE MATCHUPS

• Elon leads the all-time series against Campbell 11-2. The Phoenix is 7-1 against the Camels in home contests. 
• Last season, Elon edged Campbell 4-3 on Feb. 7 in Buies Creek. Veljko Krstic earned the decisive point for the Phoenix at No. 3 singles in the final match to finish. 
• Five of the 13 meetings between Elon and Campbell have finished with a 4-3 score. Three more have ended with a 5-2 score. 
• The Phoenix has faced UNC Asheville five previous times and won four of those contests. 
• The last four meetings between Elon and UNC Asheville have been played at Elon, with the Phoenix winning three of those. 
• In the last meeting between the Phoenix and the Bulldogs on April 10, 2018, Elon came away with a 5-2 victory. 

 
ABOUT THE PHOENIX

• Elon is coming off a 15-9 season in the spring and its second consecutive appearance in the CAA championship match. 
• Headlining Elon's returners from last season is Daniel Martin, who earned CAA Player of The Year and CAA Tournament MVP honors in the spring. Martin posted an 18-6 singles record in 2023 with all 18 wins coming at the No. 1 spot. 
• Elon also returns reigning CAA Rookie of the Year Veljko Krstic, who racked up 16 singles victories in his freshman season. 
• Back for his senior season is Ben Zipay, who took home Third Team All-CAA Doubles honors in 2023. Zipay also won 12 singles contests.
• The other returner for the Phoenix is sophomore Oskar Antinheimo, who took home a CAA Player of the Week and two CAA Doubles Team of the Week honors as a freshman. 
• Elon welcomes four newcomers in 2023 – Dylan Heap, Juan Sengariz, Jack Curtis and Alonso Roca. Heap is a graduate student who played last season at Rice and Sengariz joins the Phoenix after spending the last two seasons at Anderson. Curtis and Roca are both freshman this season.
• Elon is led by head coach Michael Leonard, who is in his 20th season leading the program. 

LAST TIME OUT

• Elon picked up its first victory of the season in its home opener Feb. 13 against South Carolina State with a 7-0 sweep. It was the 14^th consecutive victorious home opener for the maroon and gold, a streak that dates back to the 2010 season. 
• The Phoenix won its first doubles point of the season with convincing victories at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots. 
• Playing the No. 1 position, Dylan Heap and Daniel Martin teamed up for a 6-1 victory for Elon's first win of the day. It was the duo's first doubles victory together and Elon's first at the No. 1 spot this season. 
• Oskar Antinheimo and Jack Curtis won 6-2 on Court 3 to secure the doubles point for the maroon and gold. The tandem has now won two matches together this season. 
• On Court 2, Ben Zipay and Juan Sengariz, who were chosen as the CAA's Doubles Team of the Week during the match, were tied at 4-4 when the match was halted.
• Sengariz wasted little time moving the Phoenix ahead 2-0 with a decisive 6-0, 6-2 victory over South Carolina State's Vanja Petrov at the No. 4 position. It was his first dual singles win with the Phoenix.
• Moments after Sengariz completed his match, Martin polished off a 6-2, 6-0 win over Novak Novakovic on Court 1. It was Martin's first win of the season and the 36^th of his Elon career.
• With a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Aissa Benchakroun at the No. 3 position, Antinheimo posted the winning point for the Phoenix. It was his first career victory playing No. 3 singles in his second appearance. 
• Freshman Jack Curtis fought past Luka Stefanovic 6-4, 6-4 on Court 6 for his third win of the season. He is tied with Antinheimo for the most singles victories on the team. 
• After posting his first doubles win with Elon earlier in the day, Heap won his first singles match at the No. 5 position against Gabriel Johnson. He won 6-4, 7-6 (4) for Elon's fifth straight-sets win of the match. 
• At the No. 2 spot, Veljko Krstic fought from a set behind and completed a 4-6, 7-5, 10-8 comeback victory in a match tiebreak to secure the sweep for the Phoenix. Both of Krstic's wins this season have come playing the No. 2 position. 
• This was Elon's first outdoor match of the season after playing the first three indoors.  
• To read more about Sengariz and Heap's first victories with the Phoenix via Rising Phoenix, click here.

 
DAN THE MAN

• Last season, Daniel Martin racked up several prestigious CAA honors in his second year with the program. 
• Martin became the third Elon player to be named CAA Player of the Year, joining Stefan Fortmann and Felipe Sarrasague, who took home the award twice. 
• After going 3-0 in singles at the CAA Tournament, Martin was also chosen as the Most Outstanding Player of the event. This was the first time since 2019 that Elon took home both CAA Player of the Year and CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in the same season. 
• Martin was also named to the All-CAA First Team for singles after posting an 18-6 record, with all 18 wins coming at the No. 1 spot. He won his final six singles contests, four of which came against conference opponents. 
• Martin won CAA matches against Hampton, College of Charleston, two against Delaware, North Carolina A&T, Monmouth and UNC Wilmington. He also won a singles match against No. 35 North Carolina State and was named CAA Player of the Week after the victory. 
• Since coming to Elon, Martin is 36-12 in completed singles contests. 
• Martin picked up his first singles and doubles victories of the season in Elon's sweep of South Carolina State on Tuesday. He dropped just two games in a win at the No. 1 singles spot. 
• In addition to his accolades on the court, Martin was also selected as Elon's Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and received the CAA's 2022-23 Leadership and Sport Excellence Award for men's tennis. 

SUPER SOPHOMORES

• As a freshman last season, Veljko Krstic became Elon's first player to win CAA Rookie of the Year and was also named to the All-CAA Second Team for singles.
• The Belgrade, Serbia, native went 16-4 in singles last season, with 15 of the victories coming at the No. 3 position. 
• Krstic won conference matches against Hampton, College of Charleston, Delaware, William & Mary, North Carolina A&T and Monmouth. He also clinched a dramatic 4-3 victory over Campbell with a win at No. 3 singles and won 13 of his matches in straight sets.
• Krstic went 3-1 in final sets last season. Two of the wins came in match tiebreaks while the other came in a full third set. 
• Krstic has won a pair of matches at the No. 2 slot this season, with the most recent coming Tuesday against South Carolina State. He has played the No. 1 spot in Elon's other two matches. 
• Fellow sophomore Oskar Antinheimo is also coming off a strong debut season with the maroon and gold.
• The Helsinki, Finland, native went 14-6 in singles and finished the season on a four-match winning streak. Nine of the victories came at the No. 5 spot. 
• After a 2-0 start to the season in singles, Antinheimo was chosen as the CAA Player of the Week on Jan. 23. It was the second time he has won the award in his career.
• Antinheimo won three CAA weekly honors last season – 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, which he earned with Krstic. 
• For the fourth time in his career, Antinheimo came from a set behind to win a singles match in Elon's season opener against Wake Forest. He defeated Luciano Tacchi, the No. 78 ranked player in the most recent ITA singles rankings, 10-3 in a match tiebreak. 
• The Finland native became the first Elon player to reach three singles wins this season with a victory against South Carolina State playing the No. 3 spot. He also clinched the doubles point with partner Jack Curtis against the Bulldogs. 

VERSATILE ZIPAY 

• Senior Ben Zipay enters 2024 coming off the most productive campaign of his Elon career.
• Zipay went 23-10 last season across singles and doubles, with 12 singles and 11 doubles victories. 
• The 12 singles victories all came at the Nos. 5 and 6 positions and were tied for the third most on the team behind just Daniel Martin and Veljko Krstic.
• Of Zipay's 12 singles victories last season, 11 came in straight sets.  
• In doubles, Zipay teamed up with Nicholas Condos last season to earn CAA Doubles Team of the Week honors twice. The duo earned All-CAA Third Team recognition in doubles.
• After a win playing No. 3 doubles against No. 25 North Carolina on Feb. 8, Zipay earned CAA Doubles Team of the Week honors with partner Juan Sengariz earlier this week. 

NEW GUYS ON THE BLOCK

• Elon welcomes four newcomers for the 2024 season ­– transfers Dylan Heap and Juan Sengariz, and freshmen Jack Curtis and Alonso Roca. 
• Heap joins the Phoenix after completing prior stints at the University of Minnesota (2019-21) and Rice University (2021-23). Heap won 10 dual doubles matches in his two seasons at Rice and appeared at the Nos. 1-4 singles spots for the Owls.
• Sengariz comes to Elon after spending the last two seasons at Anderson University. Sengariz had a career singles record of 19-4 at Anderson and was named to the South Atlantic Conference Second Team for singles in 2022 and the league's First Team for singles in 2023. Sengariz was also named Anderson's MVP for the 2023 season. 
• Roca appeared in all four of Elon's fall tournaments while Curtis joined the Phoenix in January for the spring season. 
• Curtis is tied with Antinheimo for the most singles wins (3) on the team this season. 
• Both Heap and Sengariz picked up their first singles wins with the Phoenix in the team's most recent match against South Carolina State on Tuesday. 

MEET THE CAPTAINS

• Daniel Martin and Ben Zipay are Elon's captains for the 2024 season. 
• Martin is a Letchworth, England, native who joined the Phoenix during the 2021-22 season after spending two years at Minnesota. 
• Zipay hails from Osprey, Florida, and was Elon's Most Improved Player Award last season.  
• To learn more about Elon's captains courtesy of Rising Phoenix, click here. 

 
TWO-TIME DEFENDING CAA FINALISTS

• Elon advanced to the championship match at the CAA Tournament for the second consecutive year in 2023. The tournament was hosted by William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. 
• As the tournament's No. 3 seed, the Phoenix opened with a 4-1 victory over No. 6 Delaware in the quarterfinals. Singles was played first due to the match being moved indoors. Daniel Martin, Oskar Antinheimo and Nicholas Condos all won their matches to put Elon up 3-1, allowing Nicholas Campbell to clinch the victory with a thrilling three-set win on Court 2.
• In the semifinals, Elon lost the doubles point to No. 7 Monmouth but rolled in singles to earn a 4-1 win. Campbell again secured the decisive point for the Phoenix after Martin, Ben Zipay and Veljko Krstic won their contests.
• In a rematch of the 2022 championship match, No. 1 UNCW defeated Elon 4-1 to defend its conference title. 
• Last year marked the first time since joining the CAA that Elon has advanced to the championship match in consecutive years. 

 
THE LEONARD ERA

• Head coach Michael Leonard is entering his 20th season leading the Phoenix.
• During Leonard's time at Elon, he has compiled an impressive 285-171 record and led the program to three NCAA Tournament appearances. He also guided the maroon and gold to its maiden CAA championship in 2019. 
• Since joining the CAA in 2014, Leonard has led Elon to three conference championship matches, with all three coming in the last four editions of the tournament. Only UNCW and William & Mary have qualified for more CAA championship matches since Elon joined the conference.  
• Elon has won at least one match in all its appearances in the CAA Tournament. The Phoenix has advanced to at least the semifinals in eight consecutive seasons. 
• Leonard was named CAA Coach of the Year in 2019 and took home Southern Conference Coach of the Year on six occasions. 
• Under Leonard's leadership, the program has amassed 74 all-conference selections, six conference players of the year, six conference rookies of the year, while three singles players and two doubles teams have earned bids to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships.
• Leonard welcomes first-year assistant coach Garcian D'Cruz to his staff for the 2024.

 
HOME COOKING

• The Phoenix won its 14^th consecutive home opener at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on Tuesday against South Carolina State, a streak that started in 2011. 
• Elon finished the season with a 10-1 mark at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center last season. The Phoenix went 10-2 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 99-23 in home matches. 

 
SCOUTING CAMPBELL

• Winners of five straight matches, Campbell enters Saturday's contest with a 5-1 record this season. The lone loss came on the road against then No. 13 North Carolina. 
• The Camels won a pair of matches Feb. 10 in their last time out, defeating The Citadel 6-1 and Lees-McRae 7-0. 
• Benjamin Maes and Damien Nezar have combined to go 8-1 at the Nos. 1 and 2 singles positions this season. Both players have two wins a piece at each spot. 
• Tomas Balazi, Lukas Steffen and Luke Tollenaar all have four wins in singles as well. 
• Campbell is 23-4 in completed singles decisions this season and is yet to lose a match at the Nos. 2 and 6 spots.
• In doubles, the Camels are led by Maes and Nezar, who are 3-1 at the No. 1 spot. 
• The Camels are 10-4 in completed doubles matches this season and have a winning record at all three spots.  
• This is Campbell's first season in the CAA and the first meeting between the schools as conference opponents. 
• Campbell is led by head coach David Johnson, who is in his 25^th year leading the school's men's tennis program. 

 
SCOUTING UNC ASHEVILLE

• Just like Campbell, UNC Asheville is on a significant winning streak of its own, as the Bulldogs have won their last six matches. Before taking on the Phoenix on Sunday, UNC Asheville will host North Greenville on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
• Since losing their first match at Charlotte, the Bulldogs have rattled off six straight wins, three of which have been sweeps.
• In their most recent outing against Milligan on Feb. 11, the Bulldogs cruised to a 7-0 victory. 
• Freddy Murray and Jon Brann Reid lead the team with singles wins a piece. Five of Murray's wins have come at the No. 1 spot with the other coming at No. 2, while Brann Reid's victories have been at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions. 
• Bruno Serra and Tarek Erlewein both have five singles wins on the season. 
• In completed singles contests this season, UNC Asheville boasts a 32-7 mark. 
• Brann Reid and Rafa Serra are UNC Asheville's top doubles tandem, as the No. 1 pairing is 6-0 on the season. 
• Matt Frost is in his first season at the helm of the Bulldogs after a pair of successful seasons as the head coach at Tusculum. 

 
UP NEXT
Elon plays its fourth contest in a five-match homestand on Feb. 22 against Gardner-Webb. The matchup at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center will begin at 2 p.m.