ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's tennis team (13-7) concludes its regular season Friday with a 3 p.m. match against Radford at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. 
 
Friday is Senior Day for Elon, as the Phoenix will celebrate Dylan Heap, Daniel Martin and Ben Zipay in a ceremony prior to the start of the match. It will also be the final home match in the career of head coach Michael Leonard, who will retire at the end of the season. 
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

• Friday's match will begin with doubles at 3 p.m. Singles will follow shortly after doubles.
• Live scoring for Friday's contest can be accessed by clicking here.
• The Senior Day ceremony prior to the match will begin at approximately 2:40 p.m. on Court 1. Admission to the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center is free. 
• For live updates during the match, follow @ElonMTennis on Twitter and Instagram. 

 
THE MATCHUP

• Elon holds a slight 8-6 advantage in the all-time series against Radford. 
• The Phoenix has won three consecutive meetings against the Highlanders. The teams have met just twice since playing each other in 2014. 
• Six of the 14 matches between Elon and Radford were contested from 2000-03. 
• In their last meeting, Elon defeated Radford 5-2 on April 13, 2022. This match was also Elon's Senior Day. 
• Elon is 6-2 against Radford in home matches.  

 
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.

LAST TIME OUT

• Elon defeated UNCG 5-2 on Wednesday in its final road contest of the regular season. 
• Elon won all three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead over the Spartans. 
• In their fifth appearance together this season, Dylan Heap and Veljko Krstic posted the first Elon victory of the night, winning 6-2 at No. 2 doubles. It was their third victory of the season. 
• Juan Sengariz and Ben Zipay secured the doubles point for the Phoenix with a 6-2 win of their own on Court 1. 
• Playing No. 3 doubles, Oskar Antinheimo and Jack Curtis won six straight games after losing serve in the opening game to prevail 6-1. This was the fifth time they have won a match dropping one or fewer games. 
• This was Elon's third time converting the doubles point on the road this season. The Phoenix has won two of its last three doubles points away from home. 
• Curtis kicked off singles with a 6-3, 6-0 win over UNCG's Christopher Johns in his second career appearance at the No. 4 spot. It was the freshman's 14th win of the campaign.
• On the court next to Curtis, Sengariz matched his teammate's second-set bagel with one of his own as he ousted UNCG's David Flisberg 6-4, 6-0. It was the junior's 13th victory of the season and the fourth at the No. 3 position. 
• Heap delivered the winning point for the maroon and gold by defeating Harrison Gwynn 6-1, 6-2 on Court 5. It was his seventh win of the season, six of which have come playing the No. 5 position. Three of Heap's seven wins this season have come on the road. 
• The final Elon point was posted by Antinheimo, who fought past John Gabelic 6-1, 4-6, 10-4 for his 13th victory this season. It was the sophomore's second career victory at No. 2 singles and his second this season in a match tiebreak.
• Elon exceeded its road victory total from a season ago (3) with the win. 
• The victory was the 297th of head coach Michael Leonard's illustrious career leading the Phoenix.  

 
SENIOR DAY SPOTLIGHT: DYLAN HEAP

• In his first year with the Phoenix, Dylan Heap has helped the Phoenix in both singles and doubles. The Christchurch, New Zealand, native has combined to win 14 matches across doubles and singles this season. 
• Heap played four seasons split across the University of Minnesota and Rice University before joining the Phoenix.
• Heap graduated from Rice with a major in economics and a minor in business management, finishing with an accumulative GPA of 3.7. Over the course of his college career, he has made the Dean's list five times. He is currently completing Elon's master's program for business analytics with fellow senior Daniel Martin.
• From head coach Michael Leonard: "Even though Dylan has only been with our program for one year, he has brought a tremendous amount of spirit and energy to our team. After having a few injuries earlier in the season, it is great to see Dylan coming into form lately and playing his best tennis."

 
SENIOR DAY SPOTLIGHT: DANIEL MARTIN

• A team captain each of the last two years, Daniel Martin has been an instrumental part of Elon's recent success on and off the courts. 
• Since coming to Elon, Martin is 41-17 in completed singles matches to go along with 30 doubles wins.
• In 2023, the Letchtworh, England, native was chosen as both the CAA Player of the Year and the CAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He has also been an All-CAA selection in both singles and doubles each of the last two seasons.
• Martin earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from Elon with a perfect 4.0 GPA and currently has a 4.0 GPA as he pursues a master's degree in business analytics with teammate Dylan Heap. 
• Last week, Martin was chosen as a 2023-24 CAA Institutional Scholar Athlete and was also named Elon's A.L. Hook Scholar Athlete in 2023.
• From head coach Michael Leonard: "Dan is a tremendous student athlete, on the court as well as in the classroom. Dan often sacrificed for his team and teammates playing through some tough times, showing his unselfishness and leadership qualities. As his coach I very much appreciate all he has done for our program." 

 
SENIOR DAY SPOTLIGHT: BEN ZIPAY

• A four-year member of the Phoenix, Ben Zipay has developed into a key contributor for Elon in both singles and doubles. 
• Entering Friday, the Osprey, Florida, native has 25 career victories in singles and 27 in doubles. 
• Last season, Zipay was named to the All-CAA Third Team for doubles and was also selected as Elon's Most Improved Player. He has earned CAA Doubles Team of the Week on four occasions, with two each in 2023 and 2024.
• Zipay has also served as a team captain this season alongside fellow senior Daniel Martin.
• Off the court, Zipay has been the team's Student-Athlete Advisory Council representative each of the last two years and has made the President's or Dean's list in every semester. 
• A sport management major, Zipay has worked as a marketing and ticketing intern for Elon Athletics and will be moving to Atlanta after this semester to work as an athletics marketing graduate assistant at Emory University while pursuing a master's degree in sport administration at Georgia State University.
• From head coach Michael Leonard: "Ben has been a stellar student athlete with his strong work ethic and easy demeanor. Watching Ben in his early years not get a chance to play much to now, him being a vital role in both singles and doubles these last couple seasons has been awesome to witness."

 
DAN THE MAN

• Daniel Martin has won six matches in both singles and doubles this season. 
• Playing No. 1 doubles alongside Dylan Heap this season, Martin is 4-3, which included a crucial 7-5 victory to clinch against Campbell on Feb. 17.
• Martin also has two doubles wins this season with Veljko Krstic, both coming at the No. 2 position. 
• 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 41-17 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.
• On April 4, Martin was chosen as a 2023-24 CAA Institutional Scholar-Athlete. Martin earned his bachelor's degree in psychology with a 4.0 grade point average. He currently has a 4.0 GPA as he pursues a master's degree in business analytics at Elon.

 
BIG O

• Soaring in his sophomore season with the Phoenix, Oskar Antinheimo is second on the team in singles wins with 13. 
• Nine of the 13 wins have come playing the No. 3 position, with two each coming at the Nos. 2 and 4 spots.
• Of his 13 victories, 10 have come in straight sets. 
• With a victory at No. 3 singles on March 12 against James Madison, Antinheimo secured his second straight season with double-digit victories. 
• In Elon's win against No. 68 William & Mary on March 25, Antinheimo delivered the clinching point with a second-set tiebreak victory. The win was his first playing No. 2 singles in just his second appearance. 
• 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 clutch 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 tied for the team lead with 13 doubles wins, 12 of which have come with partner Jack Curtis at the No. 3 slot. His other victory came alongside Veljko Krstic. 
• 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 11-7 in singles this season, with seven wins coming at the No. 1 spot and the other four coming at the No. 2 position. He is 4-0 playing No. 2 singles, the last two of which have come in straight sets. 
• In 10 of Elon's last 11 matches, Krstic has played the No. 1 singles spot.  
• Against Liberty on April 7, Krstic recovered from dropping the opening set to defeat Rafael Marques Da Silva, the No. 102 ranked player in the ITA rankings, 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 for his first win against a ranked opponent this season. 
• Krstic flipped his other match last week from a set down as well, as against Charlotte on April 4, he came from a set and 5-2 behind to outlast Spencer Gray in a 6-7 (9), 7-5, 6-4 triumph. 
• For the first time in his career, Krstic was tabbed as Co-CAA Player of the Week on Tuesday following those wins against Liberty and Charlotte. 
• The sophomore is fourth on the team with 11 singles victories.
• Krstic has won eight of his last 12 completed singles matches, with six of the victories coming in straight sets. 
• Krstic has also played 10 doubles matches this season with three different partners, most recently with Dylan Heap. A tiebreak win with Heap against Coastal Carolina on March 16 clinched a crucial doubles point in a 4-3 victory for the maroon and gold.
• 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 

• Senior Ben Zipay has teamed up with Juan Sengariz for nine doubles wins this season. The tandem has won at least one match at all three doubles spots.
• The tandem of Zipay and Sengariz won CAA Doubles Team of the Week last week after clinching doubles for the Phoenix against No. 68 William & Mary on March 25. 
• This was the second time this season the duo has earned the honor, as they also did so after a win at No. 3 doubles against then No. 25 North Carolina on Feb. 13. 
• Zipay and Sengariz have played No. 1 doubles in eight of Elon's last 10 contests.
• Zipay has also appeared in 11 singles matches this season, with 10 coming at the No. 6 position. He made his third career appearance at No. 4 singles on March 19 against Shaw.
• 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 four singles contests on the season, with the other wins coming against Shaw, Fairfield and UNC Asheville. 
• 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 12 of his last 15 appearances in singles, nine of which have come at the No. 4 spot. Each of his last 10 wins have come in straight sets.
• Against Shaw on March 19, Sengariz made his debut at the No. 2 position, winning 6-0, 6-0. He has also played the No. 3 spot this season, where he has posted three wins.  
• The junior had his eight-match winning streak snapped against No. 45 Liberty on April 7. Before that defeat, he had not lost in singles since Elon faced No. 20 North Carolina State on Feb. 25.
• Sengariz became the third Phoenix player to reach double-digit wins on the season with his two victories against Shaw and Davidson on March 19. 
• Twelve of his 13 victories this season have come in straight sets, with the other coming in a match tiebreak. 
• In four of his singles wins, Sengariz has dropped two or fewer games. He has won 17 sets by 6-0, 6-1 or 6-2 scores this season, the most on the team.
• Prior to his loss against the Flames over the weekend, Sengariz had won 16 straight sets in singles, dropping more than four games in just two of those sets. 
• 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 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 nine times this season. They have gone 4-3, which included a crucial clinching victory against CAA opponent Campbell on Feb. 17. 
• In Elon's 4-3 win against Coastal Carolina on March 16, Heap notched his first doubles win of the season with a different partner, as he teamed up with Veljko Krstic to clinch the doubles point with a tiebreak victory. They have picked up two more wins since against Charlotte and UNCG.
• Heap has also found success in singles, winning seven matches in his first campaign with the Phoenix. Six of the wins have come at the No. 5 spot with the other coming at the No. 4 position. 
• Heap's match tiebreak victory at No. 5 singles against No. 45 Liberty on April 7 was his first to come in either a match tiebreak or full final set since he joined the Phoenix. 
• In Elon's three matches against CAA opponents this season, Heap has three wins across doubles and singles. 
• To read more about their connection courtesy of Rising Phoenix, click here.

 
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 is tied for the team lead with 13 doubles victories this season, all of which have come playing the No. 3 spot.
• Twelve 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 leads the team with 14 victories playing primarily the Nos. 5 and 6 spots. Against Shaw on March 19, he made his debut in the top half of Elon's lineup, winning at the No. 3 position. 
• Curtis became the first Elon player to win a singles match at four different positions this season on April 7 when he won at the No. 4 spot against No. 45 Liberty. He came from a set down to beat Thando Longwe-Smit 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6). 
• With a win in singles Wednesday against UNCG, Curtis ensured that he will finish the regular season with at least a share of the team lead in singles victories. 
• Curtis picked up an important straight sets victory at the No. 5 position in a key 4-3 Elon victory against No. 68 William & Mary on March 25.  
• The freshman is 7-1 this season playing No. 5 singles and has dropped just three sets playing that spot. 
• Of his 14 singles victories, four have come in a final set, one of which was a match tiebreak. He is tied with Veljko Krstic for the most final-set victories on the team this season. 
• Curtis is now a combined 26-9 in doubles and singles contests during his freshman campaign. 
• Curtis is 17-2 across doubles and singles at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center this season, which includes an 8-1 mark in singles. He is 17-4 in singles sets in completed home matches. 

 
SINGLES SUCCESS

• Elon is 69-44 on the season in completed singles matches, amounting to a winning percentage of 61%.
• At the Nos. 3-5 positions this season, Elon holds a 42-16 mark. Elon has double-digit victories at four singles spots. 
• The Phoenix has a winning record at four of six singles positions this season. 
• Elon has won at least three singles matches in 10 straight outings. 
• On seven occasions this season, Elon has swept singles, including each of the last two contests against Shaw and Davidson. 

 
DOUBLES DUBS

• The Phoenix enters Wednesday's contest having won six of its last 10 doubles points. 
• Against William & Mary on March 25, Oskar Antinheimo and Jack Curtis became Elon's first doubles tandem to reach double-digit wins on the season, as the underclassmen now have 12 victories at the No. 3 spot. 
• Two Elon tandems have been earned CAA Doubles Team of the Week honors this season – Antinheimo and Curtis on March 5 and Juan Sengariz and Ben Zipay on Feb. 13 and April 2. 
• In all three of its 4-3 victories this season, Elon won the doubles point.
• All seven Elon players that have appeared in multiple doubles matches this season hold a winning record. 

 
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. 

 
HOME COOKING

• Elon has opened the season 9-2 in home matches, with all the victories coming at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. 
• At home this season, Elon is 24-5 in completed doubles and 47-15 in singles contests. 
• The Phoenix won its 14th consecutive home opener at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on Feb. 13 against South Carolina State, a streak that started in 2011. 
• Elon finished last season with a 10-1 mark at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The Phoenix went 10-2 in home contests, as the team lost its only match last season at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center. 
• Elon's win on March 16 against Coastal Carolina clinched a 12^th straight season for the Phoenix with a winning home record. The last time Elon did not finish with a winning home record was 2012. 
• Since the start of the 2013 season, Elon is 107-25 in home matches.  

 
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, Virginia.
• 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 297 wins and led the program to three NCAA Tournament appearances. He also guided the maroon and gold to its maiden CAA championship in 2019. 
• In March, it was announced 2024 will be Leonard's final campaign leading the program, as he is set to retire at season's end. To read more, click here.
• 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 RADFORD

• Radford enters Friday's match with a 1-14 record on the season. The Highlanders are 0-9 away from home. 
• The Highlanders are led by former Elon assistant coach J.D. Shade, who was on the with Phoenix staff from 2019-22. This will be his first trip back to Elon for a dual match since becoming Radford's head coach prior to the 2022-23 season. 
• In their most recent match, the Highlanders were defeated 4-1 by Jacksonville State on April 6. Radford won the doubles point on its Senior Day before the Gamecocks clinched the match with four singles victories. 
• Radford's lone victory this season came on March 25 against Salem. 
• The Highlanders enter Friday with a 15-66 mark on the season in singles. Tom Saporta leads the team with four victories, all of which have come playing the No. 2 spot. 
• Radford has won two doubles points this season, including in its most recent contest. The duo of Robert Hagen and Filippo Marangoni leads the team with three wins. 

 
UP NEXT
Elon will compete in the CAA Tournament from April 18-21. William & Mary will host the tournament at the Mackesy Tennis Center in Williamsburg, Virginia.