ELON, N.C. – When senior
Ben Zipay stepped onto the first court for doubles on Sunday, a familiar face was across the net.
Former doubles partner Nick Condos, a four-year player for Elon and All-CAA Third Team honoree last season for the Phoenix alongside Zipay, now donned the white and bright red of the Fairfield Stags.
"We shook hands before the match started. It was just good to see Nick," Zipay said. "We knew he was going to come out knowing the home courts."
Zipay and his current doubles partner, junior Juan Sengariz, were up 5-2 and well on their way to handling Fairfield and Condos on Court 1 when the Phoenix clinched the doubles point.
"We got off to a hot start. We didn't finish the match, but we had him," Zipay added with a smile. "It was really cool to see him out here."
Zipay's singles match began in the sun and finished under the lights, a 6-4, 5-7, 10-7 third-set tiebreak win to propel the Phoenix to a 7-0 sweep of the Stags. Zipay's match lasted well beyond the end of the other five singles matches, and he credited some of his energy to his teammates rallying around Court 6.
"I hope matches don't go that long usually, but when you're in it, it's nice to have the team around you," Zipay said. "A lot of confidence went into it, and having the team behind me was huge."
Zipay's singles win was his third of the season and the third match tiebreak win of his career. After the 7-0 sweep of the Stags, the Phoenix is 6-0 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center and 7-4 overall.
Next, the Phoenix travels to South Carolina to match up with Wofford on March 9 and Presbyterian on March 10.
'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.
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