WILLIAMSBURG, Va. –
Juan Sengariz and
Oskar Antinheimo delivered clutch singles wins Monday to help the Elon University men's tennis team close out a 4-3 upset victory over No. 68 William & Mary at the Mackesy Tennis Center.
BOX SCORE (PDF)
The win was Elon's first against William & Mary in Williamsburg in its seventh attempt. It was also the team's third victory over a CAA opponent this season.
"Our team played inspired from the first point to the last," head coach
Michael Leonard said. "It took that kind of effort from them to pull out this win."
The Phoenix won the doubles point and took a 2-1 lead before William & Mary answered with a pair of singles victories to take a 3-2 advantage.
Juan Sengariz leveled the match at 3-3 with a win on Court 3, setting up
Oskar Antinheimo to clinch the match on Court 2 with a win capped off by a victorious second-set tiebreak.
"It was a great battle starting from doubles. All of our doubles teams came out with good energy and it was very important to get the doubles point," Antinheimo said. "Singles was such a fight as well and I am very happy to be able to clinch the match for the boys and for the team to get a big ranked win."
With the victory, Elon has now won four matches in a row and sits at 12-5 on the season. The nationally ranked Tribe fell to 9-9 with the defeat.
THE RUNDOWN
- The Phoenix won its fourth consecutive doubles point with wins at the Nos. 1 and 3 spots.
- Oskar Antinheimo and Jack Curtis continued their winning ways on Court 3, as the tandem prevailed 6-3. They became Elon's first doubles pairing to reach double-digit victories on the season, as their 10 wins at the No. 3 spot lead the team.
- Playing the No. 1 spot for the fourth straight match, Juan Sengariz and Ben Zipay clinched doubles for the maroon and gold with a 7-5 victory, their eighth of the season together. The duo is now 4-1 this season at the No. 1 position.
- This was Elon's second successful doubles point against an ITA ranked opponent in the last two seasons, as the Phoenix also accomplished the feat against No. 14 Wake Forest on Jan. 16, 2023.
- The Tribe tied the match at 1-1 with a straight sets win at No. 6 singles.
- Curtis moved Elon back ahead with a routine 6-3, 6-1 victory at the No. 5 spot against William & Mary's Albert Hansen. It was his 12th victory of the season, which has him tied for the team lead, and his sixth straight. Paired with his doubles triumph earlier in the day, Curtis is now a combined 22-7 in doubles and singles contests during his freshman campaign.
- William & Mary responded by completing victories at the Nos. 1 and 4 positions to take a 3-2 advantage.
- In his fourth appearance of the season at No. 3 singles, Sengariz tied the score at 3-3 by topping Konstantinos Raptis 7-5, 7-5 in a tight battle. It was the junior's eighth straight singles win, all of which have come in straight sets. He is the second Elon player to post eight straight wins in the last two seasons, as Veljko Krstic reached the mark a year ago.
- With the score knotted at 3-3, the match's outcome rested on Antinheimo's shoulders. The sophomore won his first set against Satchel Benn 6-4 and led 5-2 in the second set. However, Benn saved match points in the ninth game and eventually forced the set into a tiebreak.
- Antinheimo raced out to an early 4-1 lead in the tiebreak and never looked back, winning it 7-3 to clinch a Phoenix victory. With the win, Antinheimo drew level with Curtis for the team lead in singles victories with 12. It was the first of his career playing the No. 2 spot in just his second appearance there.
- This was Elon's first ever victory at William & Mary, as the Phoenix had come up short in its first six tries in Williamsburg.
- Elon has now won three straight road matches after losing its first four.
- This is Elon's second winning streak of at least four matches this season, as the Phoenix reached five in a row in February.
- The win was the 296th of Michael Leonard's illustrious career as Elon's head coach. He is now four wins away from reaching 300 at the helm of the Phoenix.
UP NEXT
Elon will play another ITA ranked team next week, as the Phoenix hosts No. 70 Charlotte on April 4. The contest at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, which was rescheduled from last week due to rain, will begin at 2:30 p.m.
RESULTS
Singles
1. Alexandre Leblanc (William & Mary) def.
Veljko Krstic (Elon) 6-2, 7-6 (1)
2.
Oskar Antinheimo (Elon) def. Satchel Benn (William & Mary) 6-3, 7-6 (3)
3.
Juan Sengariz (Elon) def. Konstantinos Raptis (William & Mary) 7-5, 7-5
4. Oliver Hague (William & Mary) def.
Dylan Heap (Elon) 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
5.
Jack Curtis (Elon) def. Albert Hansen (William & Mary) 6-3, 6-1
6. Bill Duo (William & Mary) def.
Ben Zipay (Elon) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1.
Juan Sengariz/
Ben Zipay (Elon) def. Bill Duo/Konstantinos Raptis (William & Mary) 7-5
2. Satchel Benn/Oliver Hague (William & Mary) def.
Dylan Heap/
Veljko Krstic (Elon) 7-6 (3)
3.
Oskar Antinheimo/
Jack Curtis (Elon) def. Nikita Bortnichek/Alexandre Leblanc (William & Mary) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,5,1,4,3,2)
--ELON--
