ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's tennis team won five singles matches, shaking off the loss of Sunday's doubles point, to defeat CAA opponent William & Mary at Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The win marks the fourth consecutive victory for the Phoenix, bringing the team's record to 7-6 on the season. After starting the season 0-4, Elon has won 7-of-9 matches.

DOUBLES RECAP
Elon battled through a tightly contested doubles point but ultimately fell short as William & Mary claimed two of the three matches. The duo of Jack Curtis and Rafael Ymer earned a dominant 6-3 win on court two to give the Phoenix early momentum, but the Tribe responded with wins on courts three and one to clinch the doubles point.
 

• No. 1 Doubles: Raz Katz and Nikita Bortnichek defeated Veljko Krstic and Oskar Antinheimo in a close 7-5 doubles match, securing the doubles point for the Tribe.
• No. 2 Doubles: Jack Curtis and Rafael Ymer fought for a 6-3 victory over Sean Joseph and Gur Trakhtenberg, securing the first doubles win of the afternoon. 
• No. 3 Doubles: In the No. 3 spot, Charles Pilet and Juan Sengariz fell 6-4 to Oliver Hague and Albert Hansen.

SINGLES RECAP
For the second time in the last three matches, and the third time this year, Elon won a match despite dropping the doubles point. On Sunday, Elon won five of the six singles matches to clinch the victory.

Veljko Krstic set the tone at the top of the lineup, breezing past Gur Trakhtenberg 6-3, 6-2 on court one to quickly even the overall score. Oskar Antinheimo followed with a 6-2, 6-1 victory on court three, and Juan Sengariz extended the Phoenix's lead to 3-1 with a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 6. Sengariz, the defending CAA Player of the Week, extended his winning streak to six consecutive matches with the win.

Jack Curtis continued his strong day by cruising past Albert Hansen 6-2, 6-4 on court four, officially clinching the match for Elon. 

At No. 2 singles, Rafael Ymer rallied from a set down to outlast Oliver Hague 3-6, 6-4, 10-8, adding another win for the Phoenix. For Ymer, it was his fourth straight singles win and he improved to 8-2 over the last 10 matches. 

The only singles loss for Elon came at No. 5, where Charles Pilet fought hard but fell in a close three-set battle to Sean Joseph.

Krstic, Ymer and Sengariz all improved to 2-0 in singles play against CAA foes this year. As a team, Elon is now 19-5 in singles play during the current four-match win streak.


UP NEXT
With another impressive win, Elon builds momentum heading into its next match, hosting Presbyterian on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Phoenix will look to continue their strong form as they approach the final stretch of the regular season.

ELON 5, WILLIAM & MARY 2
DOUBLES

No. 1  Raz Katz / Nikita Bortnichek (WM) def. Veljko Krstic / Oskar Antinheimo (Elon)  7-5
No. 2 Jack Curtis / Rafael Ymer (Elon) def. Sean Joseph / Gur Trakhtenberg (WM) 6-3
No. 3 Oliver Hague / Albert Hansen (WM) def. Charles Pilet / Juan Sengariz (Elon) 6-4

Doubles order of finish: 2, 3, 1

SINGLES
No. 1 Veljko Krstic (Elon) def. Gur Trakhtenberg (WM) 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 Rafael Ymer (Elon) def. Oliver Hague (WM) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8)
No. 3 Oskar Antinheimo (Elon) def. Nikita Bortnichek (WM) 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 Jack Curtis (Elon) def. Albert Hansen (WM) 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 Sean Joseph (WM) def. Charles Pilet (Elon) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 6 Juan Sengariz (Elon) def. Raz Katz (WM) 6-4, 6-1

Singles order of finish: 1, 3, 6, 4, 2, 5