WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – For the third consecutive season, the Elon University men's tennis team has advanced to the CAA championship match, as the Phoenix took down No. 2 seeded and nationally ranked Delaware in Saturday's tournament semifinal at the Mackesy Tennis Center. 

BOX SCORE (PDF)
 
Veljko Krstic saved a match point and went on to win in a third-set tiebreak at No. 1 singles to clinch the Elon victory. The triumph was also the 300^th in the storied career of head coach Michael Leonard, who will retire at the end of Elon's season. 
 
With the victory, Elon improved to 16-7 on the season. Delaware, who is the No. 71 ranked team in the current ITA rankings, finishes its season 16-4. 
 
THE RUNDOWN

• For the second straight day, Elon won the final doubles contest to secure an all-important lead. 
• Just as they did in Friday's quarterfinal win against Campbell, Dylan Heap and Veljko Krstic jumped out to an early break lead and never looked back, winning 6-2 at the No. 2 spot. It was their fifth straight victory and their sixth of the season. 
• The Blue Hens leveled doubles with a 7-5 win on Court 1. 
• Oskar Antinheimo and Jack Curtis secured doubles for the maroon and gold with a 6-3 win at the No. 3 spot. It was their 14^th victory of the season and their third against a conference opponent. 
• This was Elon's fourth consecutive doubles point and its ninth in the last 10 matches. 
• Curtis kicked off singles with a 6-4, 6-1 victory on Court 5 against Delaware's Udayan Bhakar. It was the freshman's 16^th victory of the season and the 12^th to come in straight sets. 
• A night after a crucial three-set win against Campbell, Juan Sengariz came through again for the Phoenix on Saturday, beating Tobey Lock 6-3, 7-5 on Court 4 to put Elon ahead 3-0. Sengariz trailed 3-0 in the second set but came storming back, winning seven of the next nine games to secure a crucial point for the team. He tied Curtis for the team lead with 16 singles wins, 10 of which have come at the No. 4 position. 
• Delaware earned its first point of the day with a tight win at No. 6 singles.
• The final three remaining matches all went to final sets. Antinheimo and Krstic both forced final sets after losing their first, while Daniel Martin lost his second after winning the first.
• Playing No. 1 singles, Krstic won the second set 6-2 after dropping the first against Karol Malirz. The sophomore quickly went up 2-0 in the final frame but gave up the break in the third game. Malirz broke Krstic again later in the set to go ahead 5-4. The game following the changeover reached a deuce point which was also a match point for the Blue Hens. Krstic won the point to stay alive and extend the set.
• Krstic held serve in the next game for 6-5, but Malirz took the set into a deciding tiebreak. Krstic sprinted out to a 6-2 advantage before Malirz saved a match point of his own to make the score 6-3. However, Krstic answered back, converting his second match point to secure a 4-1 Elon victory.
• The win was Krstic's 12^th of the season and the third to come after dropping the opening set. The sophomore has now won eight matches at the No. 1 spot.
• This was the second straight day Elon's clinching point came in a match where the Phoenix saved a match point. Antinheimo saved two match points in Friday night's victory against Campbell. 
• While Krstic was playing his two match points, Martin reached match point himself on Court 2 against Nikolaj Talimaa. Martin won his first set in a tiebreak but dropped the second. However, he took a 5-2 advantage and worked the eighth game to deuce simultaneously to when Krstic clinched the win.  
• Antinheimo was also within reach of a victory at the No. 3 spot against Javier Ruiz when his match was halted. Antinheimo won the second set after dropping the first and was at 5-5 when Krstic clinched the victory.
• This is the second straight season Elon has defeated Delaware at the CAA Tournament. The Phoenix eliminated the Blue Hens in last year's quarterfinals in a match played indoors at William & Mary. 
• This was Elon's second victory against an ITA ranked opponent this season. Both wins have come at the Mackesy Tennis Center, as the Phoenix defeated No. 68 William & Mary at the facility on March 25. 
• The win secured Elon's third consecutive spot in the CAA championship match. This is Elon's fourth ever trip to the final. 
• The victory was the 300^th of head coach Michael Leonard's career and the 14^th to come in the CAA Tournament. 

 
UP NEXT

• For the third straight season, Elon will square off against UNCW in the championship match. The contest is currently slated for a 2 p.m. start at the Mackesy Tennis Center. 
• The Seahawks are the three-time defending conference champions and defeated the Phoenix 4-2 in 2022 at Elon and 4-1 a year ago in Williamsburg for two of those titles. 
• UNCW is the tournament's No. 1 seed and is currently ranked No. 52 in the ITA rankings.
• The Seahawks are yet to surrender a point at this year's CAA Tournament, as they defeated No. 8 College of Charleston on Friday in the quarterfinals and No. 5 William & Mary on Saturday. 
• UNCW enters Sunday's title match with a 16-5 record this season. They are 6-0 against CAA opponents this season and have racked up impressive non-conference victories against Liberty, Old Dominion and Georgia State, along with narrow 4-3 losses at the hands of LSU and Georgia Tech. 
• The Seahawks are 65-28 in completed singles contests on the season. They hold a winning record at all six positions. 
• Five Seahawks have double-digit wins in singles this season, led by Gabe Hurtado with 13. 
• UNCW Is 32-21 in doubles on the season. Twenty-seven of those wins have come from the teams of Harold Huens and Reece Falck (15) and Hurtado and Trey Mallory (12). 
• The Seahawks are led by head coach Mait DuBois. 

 
RESULTS
Singles
1. Veljko Krstic (Elon) def. Karol Malirz (Delaware) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3)
2. Daniel Martin (Elon) vs. Nikolaj Talimaa (Delaware) 7-6 (2), 3-6, 5-2, unfinished
3. Oskar Antinheimo (Elon) vs. Javier Ruiz (Delaware) 1-6, 6-4, 5-5, unfinished
4. Juan Sengariz (Elon) def. Tobey Lock (Delaware) 6-3, 7-5
5. Jack Curtis (Elon) def. Udayan Bhakar (Delaware) 6-4, 6-1
6. Alexandre Gluck (Delaware) def. Dylan Heap (Elon) 7-6 (3), 6-3
 
Doubles
1. Karol Malirz/Javier Ruiz (Delaware) def. Juan Sengariz/Ben Zipay (Elon) 7-5
2. Dylan Heap/Veljko Krstic (Elon) def. Tobey Lock/Euan Mackenzie (Delaware) 6-2
3. Oskar Antinheimo/Jack Curtis (Elon) def. Udayan Bhakar/Alexandre Gluck (Delaware) 6-3
 
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,4,6,1)