ELON – The Elon men's tennis team (1-1) will take on its second straight top-20 opponent Wednesday, as the Phoenix faces No. 13 Texas A&M (2-0) on neutral courts at the Wake Forest Tennis Center.

It will be Elon's second neutral-site match played on Wake Forest's indoor courts this spring, as the Phoenix defeated Saint Joseph's in Winston-Salem in its season opener.
 
Elon vs. No. 13 Texas A&M Briefing 
Match Details: Jan. 21, 2026 | Winston-Salem, N.C. | Wake Forest Tennis Center | 2 p.m. 
Admission: Free 
Elon Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats 
Texas A&M Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats 
 
The Matchup 

• The Phoenix and Aggies will meet for the first time Wednesday.
• This is Elon's second straight season facing an SEC opponent, as the Phoenix played Tennessee in Knoxville a season ago.
• Elon is 2-12 all-time against teams currently in the SEC, with both victories coming against South Carolina.

 
Last Time Out

• Elon fell to No. 17 Duke in a tightly contested match Friday at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. The Blue Devils won 4-0 despite a valiant effort from Elon.
• The Phoenix pushed Duke in doubles, playing close matches on all three courts. Veljko Krstic and Nikola Parichkov lost 4-6 at the No. 1 spot to Cooper Williams and Pedro Rodenas in a match that featured just one break of serve.
• At the No. 3 spot, Oskar Antinheimo and Charles Pilet went to a tiebreak against Teddy Truwit and Saahith Jayaraman. The Elon duo saved match points trailing 5-6 and 6-7, but Duke responded to take the breaker and the doubles point.
• On Court 2, Jack Curtis and Rafael Ymer were tied 5-5 in their match when it was halted.
• Duke clinched the match victory with wins at Nos. 1-3 singles. All three wins came in straight sets.  
• Elon won the opening set on Courts 4-6. Antinheimo led by a break in the second set after winning his first frame in a tiebreak at the No. 6 spot, while Curtis was a game into a third set in his encounter on Court 5. Pilet also won his opening set in a tiebreaker but was trailing 1-5 in the second when his match was stopped.
• The loss dropped Elon to 1-1 on the campaign after a season-opening victory against Saint Joseph's.

 
About The Phoenix 

• Elon is coming off an 11-8 season last spring, which included a fourth straight trip to the CAA championship match. 
• The Phoenix went 4-1 against CAA opponents last spring, with the lone loss coming to top-seeded UNCW in the title match. 
• Veljko Krstic earned All-CAA honors in both singles and doubles a season ago. He went 10-6 playing the No. 1 position for the Phoenix and added seven doubles victories. 
• Rafael Ymer and Jack Curtis also picked up All-CAA recognition in both singles and doubles. Ymer led the Phoenix as a freshman with 11 singles victories and tied for a team-best 10 doubles wins. Curtis also reached double figures in both singles (10) and doubles (10) victories. 
• Oskar Antinheimo rounded out Elon's postseason honorees, landing on the All-CAA Second Team in doubles. Antinheimo won seven matches alongside Krstic at the No. 1 spot and added six singles triumphs. 
• Elon returns three more players from last season – Luke Forester, Charles Pilet and Alonso Roca. Pilet delivered 10 victories as a freshman across singles and doubles, while Roca notched a pair of singles wins in the spring. 
• The Phoenix welcomes two newcomers in 2025-26. Nick Fisk joins Elon as a freshman, while sophomore Nikola Parichkov comes to Elon after being a part of Wake Forest's national championship team last spring. 
• Maciek Sykut is in his second year at the helm of the Phoenix. 

 
Fall Recap 

• The Phoenix racked up 64 victories in the fall, with 48 in singles and 16 in doubles.  
• Krstic and Parichkov represented the CAA at ITA Conference Masters in San Diego in November. Krstic won a pair of singles matches to make the quarterfinals while the doubles duo picked up a consolation victory.
• The Phoenix competed in the Wake Forest Invite from Oct. 31-Nov. 2, with Parichkov and Pilet winning the B2 doubles flight. In total, Elon collected 13 wins at the event.  
• Elon picked up 11 victories across singles and doubles at ITA Regionals, which were held at Cary Tennis Park from Oct. 16-19. Krstic made a run to the semifinals in singles, ultimately placing third in the event. Parichkov also qualified for the main singles draw at Regionals to join Krstic.  
• Prior to Regionals, Elon competed at the Liberty Dual from Sept. 26-28, tallying 17 victories across singles (14) and doubles (3).  
• Krstic paced the Phoenix with a 3-0 singles record at Liberty and went 2-1 in doubles with Parichkov. Curtis, Ymer, Pilet and Roca also notched multiple singles wins in Lynchburg.   
• Fisk and Parichkov competed at the Porter's Neck Invitational hosted by UNCW on Sept. 19-21, winning the B doubles flight. It was Parichkov's debut tournament with the Phoenix.  
• Elon opened its fall campaign by hosting the Elon Invitational at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center from Sept. 12-14. The Phoenix posted 18 wins across singles (15) and doubles (3) during its home event. 
• Antinheimo finished Elon's home tournament with a team-high five victories in doubles and singles. He won a pair of doubles contests with partner Krstic to go along with his three singles triumphs. Curtis also won three singles matches at Elon's home event, winning his final three outings 

 
Regionals Run 

• Krstic made a historic run at ITA Carolina Regionals in October, placing third in the main singles draw.   
• The senior advanced to the semifinals in the event, becoming the first Elon player to make the final four in singles at Regionals since Cameron Silverman in 2013.  
• Krstic delivered four victories to reach the semifinals, defeating players from North Carolina, Charlotte, Clemson and South Carolina along the way.  
• In his semifinal against Wake Forest's Luca Pow, Krstic won the second set, 6-2, after dropping the opener in a tiebreak. He pushed Pow to the end, ultimately falling 4-6 in the deciding frame.  
• Krstic checked in at No. 91 in the final fall ITA singles rankings on Nov. 25, the only CAA player to appear in the rankings. He is the first Elon player to be ranked in singles since Kyle Frankel was No. 125 on March 30, 2021.  
• Krstic finished the fall with a team-best 10 singles victories. He also had six doubles wins.  
• Krstic has 39 career dual singles victories. An All-CAA First Team honoree in singles a season ago, Krstic has posted double-digit singles wins in all three seasons with the Phoenix.  

 
Back In Maroon And Gold 

• Joining Krstic as a senior this year is Antinheimo, who has a combined 68 dual victories (36 in singles, 32 in doubles) in four years with the Phoenix. Antinheimo has been an All-CAA Second Team selection in both singles (2024) and doubles (2025) during his Elon career.  
• Curtis is entering his third spring campaign with Elon after earning All-CAA recognition in both singles and doubles as a sophomore. He tallied 10 wins in both singles and doubles a season ago, which included a perfect 2-0 mark in singles in the CAA Tournament.  
• Sophomores Pilet and Ymer both return after productive freshman seasons. Ymer led the Phoenix with 11 singles wins and tied with Curtis for a team-best 10 doubles victories, with Pilet notching 10 total wins across singles and doubles.  
• Roca and Forester also return for the Phoenix this spring. Roca went 4-2 in singles this fall, while Forester earned his first Elon win this fall at the Wake Forest Invite.  

 
Four In A Row 

• Elon has advanced to four straight CAA championship matches, a streak that began in 2022.  
• Last season, the Phoenix hosted the event at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center and defeated Monmouth in the semifinals to reach the final against top-seeded UNCW.  
• The Phoenix and Seahawks have met in each of the last four conference title matches, with UNCW winning all four.  
• In the last four CAA Tournaments, Elon is 7-0 in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. The Phoenix's last loss prior to the championship match came in 2021.  

 
Scouting Texas A&M 

• The Aggies are 2-0 on the season following a pair of 7-0 victories on Saturday against UTSA and UT Arlington.
• Texas A&M is ranked No. 13 in the current ITA rankings. They are the third highest ranked SEC team, behind just Texas (No. 3) and Mississippi State (No. 7).
• Last spring, the Aggies went 18-11 and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to eventual national champion and top-ranked Wake Forest in the Sweet 16.
• Texas A&M has qualified for 12 consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
• A pair of Aggies are in the current ITA singles rankings – Alexander Frusina (No. 73) and Khololwam Montsi. Both picked up straight-set victories in their season opener against the Roadrunners. The pair is also No. 29 in the ITA doubles rankings.
• Togan Tokac and Tiago Pires sit No. 81 in the ITA doubles rankings. The duo did not play together in Texas A&M's opening weekend.
• The Aggies are led by head coach Steve Denton, the winningest coach in program history.

 
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