ELON – The Elon men's tennis team returns to action Saturday in its spring opener against Saint Joseph's. The teams will square off on neutral courts at the Wake Forest Tennis Center at 4:30 p.m.
Elon vs. Saint Joseph's Briefing
Match Details: Jan. 10, 2026 | Winston-Salem, N.C. | Wake Forest Tennis Center | 4:30 p.m.
Admission: Free
The Matchup
- Saturday will be the first ever meeting between the Phoenix and Hawks.
- Elon is looking for its first victory in a season opener since 2018. The Phoenix has faced a ranked ACC opponent in five of its last seven spring openers.
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 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 enters his senior spring with 38 career dual 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 67 dual victories (35 in singles, 32 in doubles) in three 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 Saint Joseph's
- The Hawks are coming off a 9-18 spring campaign in 2025. They picked up a win over St. Bonaventure in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament before falling to No. 2 seed VCU in the quarterfinals.
- Juniors Othman Bezzaz and Ernesto Ruy checked in at No. 70 in the final fall ITA doubles rankings on Nov. 25. The duo is the highest ranked pairing from the Alantic 10 after becoming the first Hawks to qualify for ITA Sectionals in November.
- Santiago Valle paced the Hawks last spring with 14 singles victories in his freshman campaign, with 10 of the wins coming at the No. 3 spot.
- Bezzaz (12) and Ruy (11) also reached double-digit wins in singles a season ago. They were also Saint Joseph's top doubles duo last spring, winning 10 matches together at the No. 1 position. Valle matched them with 10 doubles victories of his own.
- Last spring, the Hawks accumulated a winning record at the Nos. 2-5 singles spots. They were a combined 6-40 at the Nos. 1 and 6 positions.
- Saint Joseph's is led by head coach Jeff Puhan, who is in his third season with the program.
Stay Posted
For further coverage of Elon men's tennis, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonMTennis), Instagram (elonmtennis) and Facebook (Elon Men's Tennis).
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