ELON, N.C. –  Michael Leonard has seen it all with the Elon University men's tennis program. In fact, he might just bleed maroon and gold, having been a part of some of the greatest moments in program history as both a player and coach. 

As part of the Elon graduating class of 1991, Leonard was named all-conference and all-district during each of his four years of competition. In his final season, he was tabbed the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and earned Stein H. Basnight Outstanding Athlete honors. An NAIA All-American in both 1990 and 1991, he was inducted into the Elon Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

"I really wanted to be at a competitive place with an opportunity to play," Leonard said. "But also a school that I wanted to be at. When I came on a visit here, I fell in love with the school."

Prior to coaching the Phoenix, Leonard served as the tennis director at the Raleigh Racquet Club (1995-2004) in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he was in charge of one of the largest junior programs in the South with nearly 200 players. During his tenure, Leonard coached many nationally-ranked juniors, including two national champions.

Naturally, it would have taken an incredible opportunity to take Leonard away from Raleigh. That's when Elon came calling.

"I had a great job where I was," Leonard said. "I had a hard time deciding on if I wanted to do it or not, but I always wanted to be in college coaching."

"When they offered me the job, I was like, 'If I'm going to do it, this has got to be it,'" Leonard continued. "Because if I don't do it at Elon, I'm never going to do it."

After thinking it over, Leonard decided coming back to Elon was an opportunity that he just could not pass up on.

"I decided, you know what? I want to live out my dream," Leonard said. "This is an opportunity to go back and coach at the place I played at. I thought if I didn't do it, I was going to regret it."

When he came back to coach the Phoenix in 2004, Leonard was taking over at the same time when there was change just across the hall in the office, with Elizabeth Anderson being named the new head coach of the women's tennis team.

 "What's impressed me with him throughout this period of time is his strong work ethic and his desire to help his team to be successful," Anderson said. "He's a great leader and has enhanced our athletic department and university as well."

Anderson is grateful that they have been able to be on this coaching journey together.

"Both of our teams over the course of the 20 years, both the men's and women's teams, have been very close," Anderson said. "We've been on several trips together and international trips, so we've gotten to know each other very well and I have the most respect for him and am so happy for everything he has accomplished."

"It's been nice that both of our teams have been really close," Anderson continued. "Because I think we have gotten to know each other's players as well over the years and it has been very rewarding for both programs."

As the head coach for the men's tennis team, Leonard finished his coaching career with a stellar 300-176 record, with his 300th and final win coming in the semifinals of the 2024 CAA Tournament against nationally ranked Delaware.

Leonard led Elon from a last-place finish in the SoCon in 2005, his first season on the job, to a share of first place in 2006 and the outright title in 2007. The remarkable turnaround saw the Phoenix go from 5-17 overall and 0-10 in the SoCon in 2005 to 19-5 overall and 8-1 in the conference in 2006 with a squad made up of all underclassmen.

"It's been everything," Leonard said. "There's been a lot of highs with coaching; there's a lot of lows too. It's been a little bit of a rollercoaster, but I think there's been more highs than lows if you look at what we've done here."

"There's been a lot of great memories here, with specific matches and specific years," Leonard continued. "But overall, it's been a great experience for me and I've been blessed."
 
Some of those specific matches included victories over Power Five programs.

"Some of the big wins, beating Duke, when they were seventh in the country," Leonard said. "Beating teams like South Carolina, beating teams like Clemson, beating teams like Rice and Yale and Dartmouth and all those types of teams, those were programs that we were nowhere near when we first got started."

For Leonard, his favorite part during his time at Elon wasn't the matches his team won, or what he accomplished: It was the relationships he was able to build with his student-athletes.

"I think that's the best part of the job," Leonard said. "If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be in coaching. I think that's a special part of it all, is the relationships you have with them, and even after they leave, the relationship even grows and it gets bigger."

One of those relationships was with five-year player Kyle Frankel, who was part of Elon's 2019 team that won the CAA Championship and appeared in the NCAA Tournament.

Frankel, who hails from Aruba, remembers the advice he was given in high school prior to beginning his college tours.

"One thing that everybody told me is when you go on your visit, really look at how the team interacts with each other," Frankel said. "Because you don't want to spend four years at a college where the guys aren't too close, or can be toxic. When I was here, the guys welcomed me with open arms and I could see they were very close with each other. The coaching staff was great, and that is part of that culture."

As soon as he stepped foot on Elon's campus, Frankel made an immediate impact. In his freshman season, Frankel posted a 13-9 singles record, primarily playing the third singles spot. He credits Leonard as a big reason why he was able to come in and contribute right away for the Phoenix.

"I think coach [Leonard] really believed in me and my game," Frankel said. "He looked at what I do well. I had a pretty good forehand, I was pretty consistent, and we took that to the next level. He helped me build on my strengths while still improving on my weaknesses, but really focusing on what I do well, and what I enjoy doing."

"The most important part is also mentally, when you come in as a freshman, most of us are quite immature on the court, we let things bother us," Frankel continued. "One thing Coach did was just help me mentally go through those things."

Frankel, who was at Elon when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, was granted a fifth year of eligibility, one that he was more than happy to spend at Elon with Leonard.

"It was a no-brainer to stay all five years," Frankel said. "I absolutely loved every second of it."

Frankel couldn't speak highly enough about his former coach and his impact on both him and the Elon tennis program.

"What can I say?" Frankel laughed. "Coach made the environment great, he made this program what it is today, which is a great program. Great people, great tennis."

When he received news that the 2024 season would be Leonard's last at Elon, Frankel made sure to return to Elon to watch the final two regular season matches of his tenure. 

"He's leaving behind a legacy," Frankel said. "I was surprised to hear that it was going to be this season, but also very happy for him. He deserves that next step in his career as well and leaves behind an incredible history for the men's tennis program."

Part of that legacy includes three NCAA Tournament appearances, the production of 74 all-conference selections, six conference players of the year and six conference rookies of the year. Plus, three singles players and two doubles teams have earned bids to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships during Leonard's tenure.

"He's done everything here," Frankel said. "He's leaving a massive impact on this program. People are going to look back on everything he did and it's going to be tough for the next person coming in just because of the impact he had."

With the season now at an end and his Elon career over, Leonard said there are two things he will miss the most.

"Relationships are probably the number one thing I'll miss," Leonard said. "And then the competitiveness. I'm a competitor by nature, I've always been that way."

When given the chance to reflect on his time at Elon though, Leonard said that he does not want to be remembered by the wins and losses and rather hopes to be remembered for something else.

"That I cared," Leonard said. "That I put everything into it. That I gave everything that I had for these guys. That they know that I care about them as people, and as competitors, and that we played hard."

"I think our teams have had character," Leonard continued. "We wanted to play hard, but we did it with the right integrity."

While this is the end of one chapter for Leonard, he is not quite done with the sport of tennis, as he will be running a tennis and pickleball facility at a country club in Chapel Hill. 

"I'm not retired, I'm not that old," Leonard laughed. "I'm looking forward to that opportunity too to put my time and energy into that just like I did here."

With Chapel Hill just down the road from Elon, it allows Leonard to stay close to campus and return whenever he wants in a new role, as a fan watching from the crowd.

"I'm excited about being a fan," Leonard said. "I'm always going to root for Elon. I was a student-athlete here. I was a coach here. Now, I'm going to be a fan of the program."
 

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'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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