WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Elon men's tennis team (4-8) picked up a road CAA win Friday, defeating William & Mary (6-8) at the Mackesy Tennis Center, 6-1.

Veljko Krstic and Nikola Parichkov clinched the doubles point with a decisive tiebreak victory to put the Phoenix up 1-0. Elon then came through several tight singles decisions, winning a trio of matches in third sets to secure a crucial victory over a conference opponent.

The Rundown

• The doubles point came down to Court 1 after the teams split at the Nos. 2 and 3 spots.  
• Oskar Antinheimo and Rafael Ymer improved to 3-0 this spring as a pairing with a 6-2 win at the No. 3 spot against Nikita Bortnichek and Raz Katz. Elon won the first five games to race out to a commanding lead before closing out the victory. The duo has won three of its four appearances together and were match point up against No. 34 Clemson when their tilt was halted.
• The Tribe won on Court 2 to split the opening two matches. Elon's pairing of Nick Fisk and Charles Pilet trailed by an early break but got the match back on serve. However, Albert Hansen and Theo Nilsson held on for a 7-5 Tribe victory.
• Doubles came down to the match on Court 1, where Veljko Krstic and Nikola Parichkov also went down an early break against two-time reigning CAA Doubles Team of the Week Oliver Hague and Gur Trakhtenberg before getting back on serve. The teams then traded holds to take the match into a decisive tiebreak. Krstic and Parichkov took a commanding 5-1 lead at the changeover and earned match points at 6-4, but William & Mary saved both. Elon earned its third match point after the change of ends, and Krstic hit a blistering return that William & Mary could not get over the net on a volley attempt to give the Phoenix the doubles point.
• The victory was the fourth of the season for the Krstic and Parichkov duo, tying them with Ymer and Jack Curtis for the most among Elon doubles teams. This was the second time this season Krstic and Parichkov have clinched a doubles point with a tiebreak victory, as the pair also did so on Feb. 19 against Charlotte.
• Krstic moved Elon ahead 2-0 with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory against Trakhtenberg on Court 1. Krstic broke early in both sets and served for the match at 5-4 in the second. Trakhtenberg broke Krstic while he served for the match and consolidated for a 6-5 lead, but Krstic answered with a hold to take the set into a breaker. Krstic came through 7-3 in the tiebreak to snap a six-match skid and post his third victory of the spring.
• Playing singles for just the second time since Feb. 21, Curtis extended the Phoenix lead to 3-0 with a 6-3, 6-3 decision against Austin Cohen at the No. 4 spot. It was the junior's third victory this spring, two of which have come playing No. 4 singles.
• William & Mary cut Elon's lead to 3-1 with a three-set win on Court 3.
• Pilet delivered the winning point for Elon, coming from a set down on Court 6 against Katz. After the two split the first two sets, Pilet raced out to a 4-1 lead in the final frame. Katz won the next three games to level the score before Pilet won the next two games to put Elon ahead, 4-1.
• Ymer and Antinheimo also came through three-set battles. Ymer topped Hague, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 on Court 2 for his team-best eighth victory of the spring, while Antinheimo downed Hansen 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on Court 5.
• The match was Elon's first against a CAA opponent this season. The Phoenix has now won its last two trips to Williamsburg after losing its previous six tries.

 
Up Next
The Phoenix rounds out its Virginia road swing tomorrow with a match at VCU. The contest will begin at 2 p.m.
 
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Results
Singles
1. No. 116 Veljko Krstic (Elon) def. Gur Trakhtenberg (W&M) 6-1, 7-6 (3)
2. Rafael Ymer (Elon) def. Oliver Hague (W&M) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
3. Nikita Bortnichek (W&M) def. Nikola Parichkov (Elon) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
4. Jack Curtis (Elon) def. Austin Cohen (W&M) 6-3, 6-3
5. Oskar Antinheimo (Elon) def. Albert Hansen (W&M) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
6. Charles Pilet (Elon) def. Raz Katz (W&M) 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
 
 
Doubles
1. Veljko Krstic/Nikola Parichkov (Elon) def. Oliver Hague/Gur Trakhtenberg (W&M) 7-6 (6)
2. Albert Hansen/Theo Nilsson (W&M) def. Nick Fisk/Charles Pilet (Elon) 7-5
3. Oskar Antinheimo/Rafael Ymer (Elon) def. Nikita Bortnichek/Raz Katz (W&M) 6-2
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1.4,3,6,2,5)