ELON – The Elon men's tennis team is set to compete at ITA Carolina Regionals, which South Carolina will host at the Carolina Tennis Center from Oct. 8-12.
 
ITA Carolina Regionals Briefing 
Tournament Details: Oct. 8-12, 2026 | Columbia, S.C. | Carolina Tennis Center
Admission: Free   
Tournament Central: Click here
Watch: Track Tennis
Elon Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
 
Tournament Information 

• Play will begin on Thursday with the qualifying singles draw. Main draw action for both singles and doubles will start Friday and continue through Monday. 
• Nick Fisk, Nikola Parichkov and Charles Pilet will begin the tournament in the qualifying singles draw. Two victories are required to advance from the qualifying draw to the main draw. 
• Jack Curtis will begin singles play Friday in the main draw. 
• Elon has two doubles teams entered in the event. Curtis and Fisk will team up, as will Parichkov and Pilet. Both duos will play Friday. 
• The main draw singles finalists and doubles champion at ITA Carolina Regionals were secure spots in next month's NCAA Individual Championships.

 
About the Phoenix 

• Elon won its second ever CAA championship in 2026, the program's first since 2019. The Phoenix earned the CAA's at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament with the conference title.  
• The Phoenix went 4-0 against CAA opponents last season, defeating William & Mary and UNCW during its CAA Tournament run. Elon ended UNCW's streak of five consecutive conference titles by defeating the Seahawks in the championship match.
• Nikola Parichkov made the All-CAA First Team for doubles after wins in both CAA Tournament matches. 
• Jack Curtis picked up All-CAA Third Team recognition in both doubles and singles. He has made Third Team in singles in back-to-back years. Curtis won six matches this spring at the Nos. 2-4 spots, finishing with a 3-0 record against conference foes.  
• Elon returns three additional players from last season – Luke Forester, Nick Fisk and Charles Pilet. Pilet delivered 10 wins across singles and doubles while Fisk added eight doubles wins.  
• The Phoenix welcomes two newcomers in 2026-27. Noah Gabriel (NC State) and Michael Kouame (UNLV) both join Elon as juniors.  
• The tournament will be Elon's second under head coach Dennis Smith, who was hired on Sept. 14. Smith comes to the Phoenix after a successful tenure on NC State's men's tennis staff.

 
Historic Regionals Run

• Last season, Veljko Krstic advanced to the singles semifinals at ITA Carolina Regionals, eventually finishing third in the tournament.
• Krstic became the first Phoenix to reach the singles semifinals since Cameron Silverman in 2013.
• Krstic won five matches at ITA Carolina Regionals, including victories against opponents from Clemson, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wake Forest.

 
Fall Recap

• Elon last competed at the Liberty Dual Tournament on Sept. 25-26. The Phoenix picked up four wins across doubles and singles at the event.
• Gabriel and Kouame both made their Phoenix debuts at the Liberty Dual, with Kouame tallying a doubles win alongside Pilet.
• The Phoenix began its fall campaign by hosting the Elon Invitational at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center from Sept. 11-13.
• Curtis went 4-0 in singles at the event to lead the Phoenix, winning all eight of his sets.
• Parichkov was close behind Curtis with a 3-1 mark in singles. The junior came through a pair of three-set decisions at the event.
• In total, Elon tallied eight victories at the tournament, with Fisk adding a singles triumph.

 
Stay Posted    
For further coverage of Elon men's tennis, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonMTennis), Instagram (elonmtennis) and Facebook (Elon Men's Tennis).