ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's tennis team (7-4) heads to South Carolina on Sunday for a 1 p.m. match against Presbyterian at the Templeton Center Tennis Courts in Clinton. 
 
The Phoenix was originally scheduled to face Wofford on Saturday but the match was canceled due to forecasted rain. 
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

• The match will begin with doubles at 1 p.m. with singles to follow shortly after. 
• There will be no live scoring for Sunday's match. 
• For live updates throughout the match, follow @ElonMTennis on Twitter and Instagram. 

 
THE MATCHUP

• The Phoenix leads the head-to-head against Presbyterian 4-1. 
• Last season, the Blue Hose defeated the Phoenix 4-2 in a match played indoors at Piedmont Indoor Tennis on March 26. The teams played a clinch format in singles. 
• This will be Elon's first trip to Presbyterian since 2002. The Phoenix has won its only two previous matches played in Clinton.

 
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 returners for the Phoenix are sophomores Oskar Antinheimo, who took home a CAA Player of the Week and two CAA Doubles Team of the Week honors as a freshman, and Jake Pettingell. 
• 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

• The Phoenix swept Fairfield 7-0 on March 3 to remain unbeaten on the season at home. 
• Elon won its seventh doubles point in the last eight matches to take an early 1-0 advantage. 
• Oskar Antinheimo and Jack Curtis continued their impressive run in doubles this season, as the duo won 6-1 at the No. 3 spot for their team-best seventh victory. 
• Playing together for the third time this season, Daniel Martin and Veljko Krstic clinched doubles for the Phoenix with a 6-1 win at the No. 2 spot. In its last two appearances, the tandem has gone 12-1 in total games.
• On Court 1, Ben Zipay and Juan Sengariz held a 5-2 lead when their match was abandoned. Zipay faced former doubles partner Nick Condos, who won 41 doubles matches with Elon from 2020-23 and was an All-CAA Third Team selection in doubles with Zipay last season. 
• To read more about Zipay's experience taking on his former doubles partner courtesy of Rising Phoenix, click here.
• Elon has won all six of its doubles points at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center this season and is 14-1 in completed contests in those matches. 
• Sengariz kicked off singles with a timely 6-1, 6-1 victory over Fairfield's Alex Aguiar on Court 4. It tied the fewest number of games he has dropped in a singles victory with the Phoenix, matching his 6-0, 6-2 win against South Carolina State on Feb. 13. 
• Back at the No. 2 singles position, Martin dispatched Sam Hodges 6-1, 6-1 for his fourth victory of the season.  
• Curtis returned to the win column in singles in the next match to finish on Court 5, as the freshman was triumphant in a 6-2, 6-2 result against Kostas Kollias. The freshman is a perfect 12-0 across doubles and singles at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center this season
• Shortly after Curtis won his match, Krstic replied in kind with a 6-1, 6-2 win playing No. 1 singles against Thomas Smart. The sophomore has won four of his last five singles appearances, with the lone loss coming against a ranked singles opponent versus then No. 20 North Carolina State on Feb. 25. All four of those wins have come in straight sets. 
• Playing his former teammate Condos on Court 3, Antinheimo won 6-0, 6-4 for his team-best eighth victory of the season. 
• Zipay picked up his third singles win of the season with a 6-4, 5-7, 10-7 decision over Griffin Schlesinger on Court 6. It was the third win of his career in a match tiebreak and the first since Feb. 17, 2022. 
• The sweep was Elon's third this season and second via a 7-0 score. 
• The Phoenix is 30-5 this season in completed singles matches at home. 
• This is the second straight season Elon has started at least 6-0 at home, as the Phoenix won its first seven home matches last season. 

 
BEST OF THE BEST

• On Tuesday, Oskar Antinheimo and Jack Curtis were tabbed as the CAA's Doubles Team of the Week. 
• Antinheimo and Curtis picked up victories against East Tennessee State and Fairfield last week to earn the honor. 
• The duo is 7-2 on the season together, with all seven victories coming at the No. 3 spot.
• All seven of their wins together this season have come by 6-1, 6-2 or 6-3 scores. In their seven victories, they are 36-12 in total games.
• In Elon's five home matches, Antinheimo and Curtis are 5-0 and have dropped more than two games just once. 
• This was Elon's second CAA Doubles Team of the Week honor of the season, as Juan Sengariz and Ben Zipay took home the award on Feb. 20.  

 
DAN THE MAN

• Daniel Martin has won four singles and six doubles matches this season. 
• Playing No. 1 doubles alongside Dylan Heap this season, Martin is 4-2, which included a crucial 7-5 victory to clinch against Campbell on Feb. 17.
• Martin also has two doubles wins with Veljko Krstic, including in Elon's most recent outing against Fairfield. 
• Last season, 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 39-15 in completed singles contests. 
• 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.

BIG O

• Soaring in his sophomore season with the Phoenix, Oskar Antinheimo leads the maroon and gold with eight singles victories. 
• Six of the eight wins have come playing the No. 3 position, with the other two coming at the No. 4 spot. 
• Antinheimo won a dramatic singles match against Gardner-Webb on Feb. 22 to secure a 4-3 Phoenix victory. After saving match point at deuce while trailing 5-6 with an incredible backhand pass, Antinheimo went on to win a third-set tiebreak to rescue an improbable win. 
• To read more about Antinheimo's heroics against Gardner-Webb courtesy of Rising Phoenix, click here.
• In addition to his dramatic victory against the Runnin' Bulldogs, Antinheimo also delivered a dramatic win in a match tiebreak against Franco Capalbo of Wake Forest on Jan. 15. Capalbo was the No. 78 ranked player in the ITA singles rankings at the time. 
• Antinheimo is also second on the team with seven doubles wins, all of which have come with partner Jack Curtis at the No. 3 slot. 
• 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. 
• 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. 

V ON A ROLL

• Sophomore Veljko Krstic has built on his impressive freshman campaign with a stellar start to his second season with the program. 
• Krtsic is 7-4 in singles this season, with four of the wins coming at the No. 2 position and the other three at the No. 1 spot. He is 4-0 playing No. 2 singles, the last two of which have come in straight sets. 
• In three of Elon's last four matches, Krstic has played the No. 1 singles spot, which included a victory over CAA foe Hampton on Feb. 24. 
• The sophomore is tied with freshman Jack Curtis with seven singles victories, the second most on the team. 
• Krstic has won four of his last five singles appearances, with all four of the victories coming in straight sets. 
• Krstic has played three doubles matches this season, winning twice with partner Daniel Martin. 
• 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 a season ago, with 15 of the victories coming at the No. 3 position. 

 
VERSATILE ZIPAY 

• For the first time in his Elon career, Ben Zipay won a singles match without dropping a single game on Feb. 24 against Hampton, as he won 6-0, 6-0 playing the No. 6 spot. 
• Zipay has won three singles contests on the season, with the other wins coming against Fairfield on March 3 and UNC Asheville on Feb. 18. 
• Zipay has teamed up with Juan Sengariz for four wins this season. The tandem has won at least one match at all three doubles spots.
• The tandem of Zipay and Sengariz also won CAA Doubles Team of the Week earlier this season after a win at No. 3 doubles against then No. 25 North Carolina. 
• Zipay enters 2024 coming off the most productive campaign of his Elon career. He 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.

SENSATIONAL SENGARIZ

• In addition to his doubles success with partner Ben Zipay this season, Juan Sengariz has hit his stride in singles. 
• The junior has won five of his last seven appearances in singles, all of which have come at the No. 4 spot. 
• Four of his five victories this season have come in straight sets, with the other coming in a match tiebreak. 
• In two of his singles wins, Sengariz has dropped just two games. He has won six sets by 6-0, 6-1 or 6-2 scores this season. 
• After a 3-0 week at No. 4 singles against South Carolina State, Campbell and UNC Asheville, Sengariz was tabbed as the CAA Player of the Week on Feb. 20. It was the first CAA weekly honor of his Elon career. 

HEAP REUNITES WITH MARTIN

• After spending the last two years at Rice, Dylan Heap joined the Phoenix for the 2023-24 season, reuniting him with Daniel Martin.
• Heap and Martin spent two seasons together at Minnesota (2019-21) before both transferred to new schools. Martin came to Elon while Heap went to Rice. 
• The tandem has played No. 1 doubles together for the Phoenix in seven of the last nine matches. They have gone 4-2 together, which included a crucial clinching victory against CAA opponent Campbell on Feb. 17. 
• Heap has also found success in singles, winning four of his last five outings. Three of the wins have come at the No. 5 spot with the other coming at the No. 4 position. All of his victories this season have come in straight sets. 
• In two matches against CAA opponents this season, Heap is 3-0 across doubles and singles. 

FRESHMAN PHENOM

• After joining the Phoenix in January, freshman Jack Curtis has quickly become a stalwart in both Elon's singles and doubles lineups. 
• Curtis leads the team with eight doubles victories this season, all of which have come playing the No. 3 spot.
• Seven of his doubles victories have come with partner Oskar Antinheimo, as the two underclassmen are Elon's winningest doubles duo this season. 
• In singles, Curtis has seven victories playing the Nos. 5 and 6 spots. He is tied with Veljko Krstic for second on the team in singles victories. 
• Of his six singles victories, three have come in a final set, one of which was a match tiebreak. He leads the team in final-set victories this season. 
• Curtis is a perfect 12-0 across doubles and singles at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center this season.

 
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 290-172 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.

 
SCOUTING PRESBYTERIAN

• Presbyterian enters Sunday's contest with a 5-6 record on the season. 
• In its most recent match on Thursday, Presbyterian fell 6-1 against Samford. It was the team's first home loss of the season, as the Blue Hose are 4-1 on their home courts this season. 
• The Blue Hose enter Sunday having lost its last two matches, as the team also dropped a match against South Carolina State on March 3. 
• Pedro Cardoso leads Presbyterian leads the team this season with eight singles victories. He has played at five singles positions this season, with the No. 1 spot being the only one he has not played. 
• David Mamalat and Javier Matos also have winning singles record this season. Matos is 6-5 at the No. 1 position while Mamalat has seven wins playing the Nos. 3-6 spots. 
• Matos and Denim Yadav lead Presbyterian with four doubles wins together on the season playing the No. 1 position. Cardoso and Vasilakis Evgenios are next on the team with three wins as a duo. 
• Presbyterian is led by fourth-year head coach John Collins. 

 
UP NEXT
Elon returns home on March 12 to face James Madison at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The contest will begin at 2:30 p.m.