ELON – The Elon men's tennis team (3-8) travels to Virginia for two matches this week, opening conference play against William & Mary (6-7) on Friday at 12 p.m. in Williamsburg before heading to Richmond to face VCU (4-9) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
Elon vs. William & Mary Briefing  
Match Details: March 20, 2026 | Williamsburg, Va. | Mackesy Tennis Center | 12 p.m.  
Admission: Free  
Live Scoring: StatBroadcast
Stream: Click here
Elon Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats   
William & Mary Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats   
 
Elon vs. VCU Briefing  
Match Details: March 21, 2026 | Richmond, Va. | Thalhimer Tennis Center | 2 p.m.  
Admission: Free  
Live Scoring: StatBroadcast
Elon Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats   
VCU Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
 
The Matchups  

• Friday marks the 18th all-time meeting between Elon and William & Mary, with the Tribe holding a 9-8 edge in the series.
• Elon's most recent win over William & Mary came last season in a 5-2 home victory. The Phoenix has won three of the last four matchups, including its only road win against the Tribe in seven tries.
• Saturday will be the 10th all-time meeting between Elon and VCU, with the Rams leading the series 7-2.
• The teams last met in last year's season opener, when VCU edged Elon 4-3 in a match played at Piedmont Indoor Tennis in Greensboro. Elon's last win in the series came in 2018, a 6-1 home victory.

   
Last Time Out  

• Elon suffered a 4-0 setback on March 15 against No. 34 Clemson.
• Elon gave the Tigers all they could handle in doubles, with opportunities to win at the Nos. 2 and 3 spots after Clemson took the victory on Court 1.
• On Court 2, Nick Fisk and Charles Pilet broke Clemson's duo of Henrik Bladelius and Marko Mesarovic in their opening service game. Leading 4-3, Fisk and Pilet dug saved a pair of Clemson break points to take a 5-3 lead. However, the Tigers broke the Elon while serving for the match at 5-4 and then held to go ahead 6-5. The Phoenix saved a pair of match points while serving in the ensuing game, but the Tigers converted the third to secure the doubles point.
• Oskar Antinheimo and Rafael Ymer were on match point against Clemson's Matisse Farzam and Yannic Nittmann on Court 3 when the match was halted. Elon's duo went down an early break, but broke back to level the score at 4-4 and then won a deuce point in the next game to hold for 5-4. With Clemson serving trailing 6-5, Elon took a 40-30 lead in the 12th game to get to match point, but the match was halted when the Tigers wrapped up the doubles point with their win on Court 2.
• Clemson took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 6-3, 6-1 win by Bladelius over Nikola Parichkov on Court 3. Parichkov was broken in his opening service game of the match but immediately broke back to make it 2-1 for Farzam in the first set. Farzam rolled from there to double Clemson's lead.
• Farzam stretched Clemson's lead to 3-0 with a 6-3, 6-2 result against Ymer on Court 2. Ymer had a chance to get the first set back on serve, overcoming a 40-0 deficit in the final game to force deuce. However, Markov won the deuce point to take the set and broke early in the second on his way to victory.
• The Tigers secured the match win with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph from Viktor Markov, the No. 48 player in the ITA singles rankings, against Veljko Krstic on Court 1. Elon's top singles player broke in Vukadin's opening service game to go ahead 2-0, and after Vukadin went ahead by a break at 4-3, Krstic responded with another break to level the score, 4-4. Vukadin rebroke Krstic in the ensuing game before serving out the opening set. He then broke Krstic to start the second and went on to clinch the match for the Tigers.
• The Phoenix also played tight opening sets at the Nos. 4-6 spots, with Alonso Roca pushing Nittmann to a 7-5 scoreline.

 
About The Phoenix   

• Senior Veljko Krstic returned to the Phoenix after earning 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 last spring, landing on the All-CAA Second Team in doubles. 
• Elon returns three more players from last season – Luke Forester, Charles Pilet and Alonso Roca. 
• The Phoenix welcomed two newcomers in 2025-26. Nick Fisk joined Elon as a freshman, while sophomore Nikola Parichkov came to Elon after being a part of Wake Forest's national championship team last spring. 
• Elon has appeared in four consecutive CAA championship matches, falling to UNCW in all four.   
• Maciek Sykut is in his second year at the helm of the Phoenix.   

 
Rafa Rising  

• Ymer leads the Phoenix with seven singles victories this spring, with six coming at the No. 2 position and one from the No. 1 spot. He owns a 7-3 overall record and was on a five-match winning streak prior to the South Carolina State contest.    
• 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 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.  
• Primarily competing at No. 2 doubles, he holds a 6-2 doubles record, and his six victories lead the team.

     
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. 116.   
• 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 72 dual victories (37 in singles, 35 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 in his third spring campaign with Elon after earning All-CAA recognition in both singles and doubles as a sophomore. He has won four doubles matches this season alongside Ymer. 
• Sophomores Pilet and Ymer both returned after productive freshman seasons. Pilet has a pair of victories in both doubles and singles this spring.
• Roca and Forester also returned for the Phoenix this spring. Roca is 2-2 playing Nos. 5-6 singles this spring.      

 
Doubles Success

• The Phoenix has won six of 11 doubles points this spring and has taken the opening point in five of its last eight matches.
• Curtis and Ymer have been Elon's most successful pairing, winning four matches at the No. 2 spot. They have helped the Phoenix clinch four of its five doubles points in the last eight outings.
• Krstic and Parichkov took home the first CAA Doubles Team of the Week honor on Jan. 27 after beating a ranked duo from Saint Joseph's. Elon's top tandem also clinched the doubles point for the Phoenix against Charlotte with a clutch tiebreak win. 
• Six different doubles duos have won a match this spring for the Phoenix. 

   
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 William & Mary 

• William & Mary is 6-7 overall and 5-1 at home this spring, surrendering just six total points across those five wins.
• Oliver Hague holds an impressive 11-1 dual singles record, all at the No. 2 position. His only loss came against a ranked Liberty team.
• Ymer defeated Hague last spring in a three-set battle on Court 2.
• Gur Trakhtenberg has the second most singles wins for the Tribe with an 8-4 record, competing at the No. 1 spot.
• Krstic took down Trakhtenberg last season on Court 1 in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
• In doubles, Hague and Trakhtenberg lead the team with nine dual-match wins together at the No. 1 position. Their only two losses include one against ranked Liberty. 
• The duo earned their third CAA Doubles Team of the Week honor of the season on March 17.
• Elon's top pair of Curtis and Ymer defeated Trakhtenberg at No. 2 doubles last season, 6-3.
• The Tribe is led by head coach Jeff Kader, who is in his 11th season with the program.

  
Scouting VCU 

• VCU is 4-9 overall and 3-4 at home this spring, with all four home losses coming against ITA-ranked opponents: No. 34 Cornell, No. 56 Charlotte, No. 67 ETSU, and No. 73 Kennesaw State.
• Elon also fell to Charlotte, 4-3, roughly a month after VCU dropped a match to the 49ers by the same score.
• The Rams enter Saturday on a seven-match losing streak, including three matches against ranked opponents. During that stretch, they've totaled just five points and have not scored more than one point in any match.
• VCU's last win came on Feb. 13 in a 4-0 sweep at Davidson. Its last home win was Feb. 6, a 5-2 victory over Richmond.
• Gevorg Mnatsakanyan has seven singles wins across the No. 3-5 positions, including victories over Charlotte, Cornell, and Loyola Marymount, all currently ranked teams.
• Erwann Bouchet also has seven singles wins this spring across the No. 2-3 positions, with notable victories over ranked ETSU and Kennesaw State.
• Antinheimo earned a three-set win over Bouchet at No. 3 singles last season.
• Mnatsakanyan and Nicolo Consonni form VCU's top doubles pair, leading the team with five wins together, including victories over ETSU and Kennesaw State.
• The Rams are led by second-year head coach Dimi Kutrovsky.

 
Stay Posted      
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