ELON – The Elon University men's tennis team (2-4) is back at home Friday, welcoming Florida Gulf Coast (1-8) for a 4 p.m. match at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
Elon vs. FGCU Briefing
Match Details: Feb. 27, 2026 | Elon, N.C. | Jimmy Powell Tennis Center | 4 p.m.
Admission: Free
The Matchup
- Elon will take on Florida Gulf Coast for the first time on Friday afternoon.
- The last time the Phoenix faced a team from the Atlantic Sun conference was in 2017, when it fell at home to North Florida.
Last Time Out
- Rafael Ymer picked up another impressive singles win on Feb. 21 as Elon fell, 6-1, at No. 23 NC State.
- The Wolfpack took the doubles point with wins at the Nos. 1 and 3 spots.
- Ymer and Jack Curtis trailed 4-3 on Court 2 when their match was halted.
- NC State won the first three singles matches to secure a 4-0 lead. All three Wolfpack players in those matches are currently ranked by the ITA.
- Ymer continued his stellar form in singles, defeating Ainius Sabaliauskas, 7-6 (8), 6-3, at the No. 2 position. Ymer saved a pair of set points in the first-set tiebreak before winning the final three points to grab the set. He raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second and recovered after failing to serve out the match in the seventh game, sealing the match with a 6-3 second-set victory.
- The Wolfpack won the final two singles matches to wrap up the contest.
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.
Rafa Rising
- Ymer leads the Phoenix with five singles victories this spring, all coming at the No. 2 position. He owns a 5-1 overall record, with his only loss coming against a ranked opponent at Duke.
- The sophomore picked up a ranked singles win on Jan. 21 against No. 11 Texas A&M, defeating Alexander Frusina, who was ranked No. 73 by the ITA in singles. He later added another singles victory on the road at No. 23 NC State.
- Ymer is currently on a four-match winning streak, with all four victories coming in straight sets.
- Ymer captured his second career CAA Player of the Week honor on Jan. 27, highlighted in the season's first CAA weekly men's tennis awards.
- He also holds a 3-1 mark at No. 2 doubles. His two wins are tied for the team lead this season alongside Curtis.
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 finished the fall with a team-best 10 singles victories. He also had six doubles wins.
- Krstic rose to No. 60 in the first ITA singles rankings of the spring, which were released on Feb. 4. He is the second Elon individual to reach the top 60 in the rankings and is currently ranked No. 106.
- Krstic is up to 40 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 Florida Gulf Coast
- The Eagles are 1-8 this season, earning their lone victory in a neutral-site match against Oral Roberts.
- FGCU has yet to play at home, boasting an 0-7 mark on the road and a 1-1 record at neutral sites. Six of its eight losses have come via sweeps, with four coming against power conference opponents.
- The Eagles finished 13-14 last season and were eliminated in the second round of the Atlantic Sun tournament.
- Pablo Paternostro leads the team with three doubles wins at the No. 2 position and paces the squad with four total victories, adding a win at No. 3 singles. He also took a set off No. 52 ranked Wissam Abderrahman of Central Florida.
- Tanner Povey has a team-best two singles wins from the No. 1 spot, with victories over Louisiana and Oral Roberts.
- FGCU is led by second-year head coach Josh Molino.
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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