ELON – In a match that ended just over nine hours after it started, the Elon men's tennis team (2-3) was outlasted in a marathon battle with Charlotte (6-1) on Thursday night at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, falling 4-3.

The match came down to the final singles contest, with Charlotte's Moritz Muenster holding off Oskar Antinheimo, 13-11, in a dramatic final-set tiebreak. Antinheimo saved five match points in the tiebreak but could not find a way through in a grueling back-and-forth affair.

A rain shower halted play near the end of the final doubles match, stopping play for two-plus hours. When play resumed, only three courts could be used. The match took over nine hours to complete from start to finish, beginning at 2 p.m. and ending just after 11 p.m.

The Rundown

• Elon and Charlotte split the first two doubles matches, with the 49ers winning on Court 3 and the Phoenix earning the win on Court 2.
• Jack Curtis and Rafael Ymer won 6-1 at the No. 2 spot for their team-best third victory of the spring.
• The rain halted play on Court 1 with Charlotte leading 6-5 against Elon's top duo of Veljko Krstic and Nikola Parichkov. The 12th game was level at 30-30 with Charlotte serving when play had to be stopped.
• Elon regrouped when play resumed just after 5 p.m. Krstic and Parichkov broke Charlotte's serve to force a tiebreak and then won the breaker 7-5 to clinch the doubles point for the Phoenix. The victory was Krstic and Parichkov's first since Jan. 10 against Saint Joseph's.
• Charlotte leveled the score at 1-1 with a win at No. 1 singles, with Vasco Prata edging Krstic in a tight 6-4, 6-4 decision.
• Ymer gave Elon back the lead with a 6-3, 7-5 win at the No. 2 spot against Charlotte's Ivan Dreycopp. Ymer came from a break down in the second set to secure the straight-set triumph. The sophomore leads the Phoenix with four singles victories this season.
• The 49ers again evened the match with a victory at the No. 3 spot. Andres Medus won two tiebreak sets against Curtis to make the score 2-2.
• Charlotte took its first lead in the match with a win at No. 4 singles, as Massimo Pizzigoni knocked off Parichkov in three sets. Parichkov rallied after dropping the first for a 6-1 win in the second before Pizzigoni answered back and won the third.
• Needing to win the last two singles matches on court to complete a comeback, Elon got a victory from Charles Pilet at the No. 6 spot to tie the match at 3-3. Pilet won the first set 6-3 and was up a break in the second until Emilio Sanchez broke back for 4-4. However, Pilet recovered quickly, winning the final two games to secure a crucial win for the Phoenix.
• The match came down to Antinheimo, who was embroiled in a back-and-forth tussle with Muenster at the No. 5 spot. The two players traded breaks of serve throughout the match, with Muenster winning the opening set before Antinheimo responded to win the second.
• Antinheimo held serve to go ahead 5-4 in the final set and won the first two points in the ensuing Muenster service game. Muenster won the next three points to go ahead 40-30, but Antinheimo forced the game to deuce. Antinheimo missed his return on the deuce point and Muenster held for 5-5 to stay alive.
• Muenster then broke Antinheimo to go ahead 6-5, but Antinheimo responded again, breaking back to take the final set into a decisive tiebreak.
• Muenster led the breaker 4-2 at the changeover and went ahead 6-4 to earn a pair of match points. Antinheimo saved them both and then saved additional match points trailing 7-6, 8-7 and 9-8. The senior earned his first match point of the tiebreak at 10-9 and had another at 11-10, but Muenster won the final three points to clinch the match and the victory for the 49ers.

 
Up Next
The Phoenix will face its third ranked opponent of the season Saturday, taking on No. 23 NC State in Raleigh. The match will begin at noon.

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Results
Singles
1. Vasco Prata (Charlotte) def. No. 106 Veljko Krstic (Elon) 6-4, 6-4
2. Rafael Ymer (Elon) def. Ivan Dreycopp (Charlotte) 6-3, 7-5
3. Andres Medus (Charlotte) def. Jack Curtis (Elon) 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2)
4. Massimo Pizzigoni (Charlotte) def. Nikola Parichkov (Elon) 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
5. Moritz Muenster (Charlotte) def. Oskar Antinheimo (Elon) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (11)
6. Charles Pilet (Elon) def. Emilio Sanchez (Charlotte) 6-3, 6-4
 
Doubles
1. Veljko Krstic/Nikola Parichkov (Elon) def. Ivan Dreycopp/Vasco Prata (Charlotte) 7-6 (5)
2. Jack Curtis/Rafael Ymer (Elon) def. Massimo Pizzigoni/Emilioi Sanchez (Charlotte) 6-1
3. Andres Medus/Danny Yassine (Charlotte) def. Oskar Antinheimo/Charles Pilet (Elon) 6-2
 
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,2,3,4,6,5)