ELON, N.C. – After being sidelined due to injury at the beginning of the Elon University men's tennis team's 2025 spring campaign, the lone senior on the roster in
Juan Sengariz has made an impressive return to the court.
During the team's Sunday afternoon matinee at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, Sengariz rattled off his sixth straight win in singles play to give the Phoenix its penultimate point en route to a convincing 5-2 win over conference foe William & Mary.
"We tried to do what we do best, fight," Sengariz said. "And we tried to play good tennis together and I'm really happy that we could win."
Sengariz did not make his return to action until late February, when the Phoenix eked out a 4-3 nailbiter over ETSU, which also marked the squad's first victory after its 0-4 start to the season.
Since then, the Phoenix is 7-2 overall and now 2-0 in CAA play with its win over the Tribe. Sengariz, who has played in the No. 6 spot this season, explained that his injury and time away from the court has given him a more removed perspective of the sport he is so passionate about.
"[I'm] extremely happy to be able to play," Sengariz said. "At the beginning of the season, I didn't even know if I was going to be able to play."
Sengariz explained that no matter the outcome of the match, he is just thankful to be able to play competitive tennis again.
"Every match is a gift," Sengariz said.
Despite Sengariz losing his first three singles matches to begin his senior campaign, he has rattled off six straight victories since and will finish undefeated in March. Additionally, he has won three of his last four doubles contests, which turned plenty of heads around the conference, earning him a CAA Player of the Week selection on Tuesday, March 25.
"[I'm] happy to be competitive and play good tennis," Sengariz said. "I feel like I'm playing good."
While his absence was not due to injury like Sengariz, freshman Rafael Ymer was a late addition to the Phoenix roster. Although Ymer was unable to join until right before the spring season started, the Swedish native's transition to collegiate tennis has appeared to be rather seamless.
Ymer, who has played in the No. 2 singles spot most of the year, has won his last four singles matches, and three of his last four doubles matches. Despite the match being clinched, the first year still managed to rally from a set down to outlast his opponent 3-6, 6-4, 10-8.
"[I was] a little bit nervous in the beginning, but I feel like I figured it out in the end," Ymer said.
Ymer's high level of play even recently earned him CAA Player of the Week honors on Tuesday, March 11.
While the newcomer's individual success certainly deserves credit, Ymer could not help but praise his senior mentor in Sengariz for making his adjustment to playing at Elon so effortless.
"Juan makes it very easy," Ymer said of Sengariz. "We [have] the best player in the conference on our team, so I feel very confident on my court when I've got him right next to me."
Aside from his close match, Ymer had a bit of an extra spotlight during Elon's tilt against the Tribe. Several members of a documentary crew were at the JPTC filming a project about Ymer and his brothers, Mikael and Elias, who have both made names for themselves in professional tennis.
Ymer's siblings have respectively achieved ATP singles rankings as high as No. 50 for Mikael and No. 105 for Elias. One of the brothers was even in attendance to watch their younger brother and was working closely with the camera crew.
"Keep an eye on Netflix next year, hopefully we'll see something there," Ymer said.
"A little bit confidential, but I can tell you, [it's about the] Ymer family, I can tell you that," Ymer added.
Despite having Netflix cameras in his face post-match, Ymer's modest character was evident as he praised his fellow teammate one last time before fulfilling his media obligations.
"I got my guy Juan here, and that's all I need," Ymer said as he smiled and embraced Sengariz with an authentic half-hug.
The Phoenix are scheduled to return to action at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 6 to host Presbyterian (5-11) at the JPTC.
'Rising Phoenix' is a 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 X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Chase Strawser at cstrawser@elon.edu.
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