Erin Price

Men's Tennis 4/11/2026 11:02:00 AM Elon Athletics

Elon Rounds Out Regular Season In South Carolina

Phoenix Faces St. John’s On Neutral Courts

ELON – The Elon men's tennis team (5-12) wraps up its regular season Monday with a neutral-site match against St. John's (16-5) in Camden, South Carolina. The contest at the Tennis Center of Camden will begin at 3 p.m.

Elon vs. St. John's Briefing

Match Details: April 13, 2026 | Camden, S.C. | Tennis Center of Camden | 3 p.m.

Admission: Free

Elon Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats

St. John's Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats

The Matchup

Elon and St. John's met for the first time last season, with St. John's defeating the Phoenix 4-0 at the Tennis Center of Camden.
St. John's is the only Big East opponent the Phoenix has ever faced.

About the Phoenix

Elon sits at 5-12 this season and is 2-0 against CAA opponents this spring with wins over Campbell and William & Mary.
Veljko Krstic has been ranked in the ITA singles standings for most of the spring and has won four of his last six matches at the No. 1, highlighted by a victory over No. 56 Old Dominion on March 29. He earned All-CAA honors in both singles and doubles a season ago.
Rafael Ymer and Jack Curtis also picked up All-CAA recognition in both singles and doubles last season. Ymer leads the Phoenix with 21 total victories across doubles and singles this season, while Curtis has five wins apiece doubles and singles.
Oskar Antinheimo rounded out Elon's postseason honorees in 2025, landing on the All-CAA Second Team in doubles. Antinheimo has won four of his last seven singles matches and is 4-2 playing doubles with Ymer this spring.
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.
Elon has been to four straight CAA title matches, losing all four to UNCW.
Head coach Maciek Sykut is in his second year at the helm of the Phoenix.

Last Time Out

Elon fell 5-2 at No. 69 Liberty on April 4, with Parichkov and Ymer posting singles points for the Phoenix.
The Flames took the doubles point with wins at the top two spots.
Liberty took a 4-0 lead with wins at the Nos. 3, 4 and 6 positions.
Parichkov got Elon on the board with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory on Court 5 against David Ekpenyong. It was Parichkov's second straight victory and his fifth of the spring. The sophomore has now won a pair of decisive sets this season.
Ymer added another three-set singles win for Elon, defeating Benjamin Sparks 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 for his team-best 13th victory of the campaign.

Rafa Rising

Ymer leads the Phoenix with 13 singles victories this spring, with 12 coming at the No. 2 position and one from the No. 1 spot.
He owns a 13-3 overall record and enters Monday riding a six-match winning streak.
The sophomore earned a ranked singles win on Jan. 21, defeating No. 73 Alexander Frusina of No. 11 Texas A&M. He later added victories at home against Charlotte, on the road at No. 23 NC State and at home over No. 56 Old Dominion.
Five of Ymer's last seven singles wins have come in either a third set or match tiebreak. His four final-set wins lead the Phoenix, as he is 4-1 in decisive frames on the season. He has also won both his match tiebreaks, including the most recent on Wednedsay against Campbell on April 1.
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 the No. 2 spot, he holds an 8-4 record in doubles. He is 4-2 playing with Antinheimo and 4-2 playing with Curtis.
Ymer's 21 victories across doubles and singles are the most on the Phoenix. He holds a combined record of 21-7.

Serbian Surge

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. The senior has appeared in six of the seven editions of the rankings since debuting on Nov. 25.
Krstic is up to 44 career dual singles victories, the most among current Elon players. An All-CAA First Team honoree in singles a season ago, Krstic posted double-digit singles wins in each of his first three seasons with the Phoenix.
With his March 20 win over William & Mary, Krstic snapped a six-match singles skid and has since surged into form, winning four of his last six appearances. The run was highlighted by a victory over No. 56 Old Dominion on March 29.
For the third time in his Elon career, Krstic was tabbed CAA Player of the Week on March 31. It was his third CAA weekly honor of the season after winning Doubles Team of the Week twice with Parichkov.

Big O

Antinheimo has won four of his last seven singles matches heading into Monday, with two of the three losses coming in third sets.
The senior has picked up singles wins against Coastal Carolina, William & Mary, VCU and Campbell in that span. He is 2-0 against CAA opponents this spring.
Antinheimo is one of three Phoenix players to play four different singles spots this spring. He has made at least one appearance at Nos. 3-6 singles.
Antinheimo has also won five of his last seven matches in doubles, four of which came alongside Ymer. Antinheimo and Ymer were also at match point at No. 3 doubles against No. 34 Clemson on March 15 when their match was halted.
Antinheimo is up to 77 career dual victories (40 in singles, 37 in doubles) in his fourth season with the Phoenix. He is Elon's active leader in total career wins.

Curtis Cruising

Curtis has 10 total wins this season, with five apiece in singles and doubles.
The junior has won four of his last six completed singles matches, with all the wins coming in straight sets. His only losses in that stretch were in three sets at VCU and to No. 69 Liberty.
Curtis lost just three games in his singles win against Campbell on April 1, his most efficient singles performance of the spring. He is 2-0 against CAA opponents this spring as he also won at William & Mary.
Curtis debuted with Krstic in doubles on March 29 against Old Dominion. The duo won their first match together April 1 against Campbell.
The junior has also picked up four victories alongside Ymer this spring and is 5-4 overall in doubles.

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 St. John's

St. John's is 16-5 this season and 4-0 in Big East play.
The Red Storm has won three consecutive matches, including last time out against Fordham on April 9.
St. John's played CAA opponent Monmouth earlier this spring, sweeping the Hawks, 6-0.
St. John's is coming off an NCAA Tournament bid a season ago. The Red Storm fell in the first round against Princeton.
Dillon Pottish is in his eighth season leading the Red Storm.

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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Players Mentioned

Oskar Antinheimo: 6' 1"; Senior

Jack Curtis: 5' 10"; Junior

Luke Forester: 6' 3"; Redshirt Sophomore

Veljko Krstic: 6' 2"; Senior

Charles Pilet: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Alonso Roca: 6' 1"; Junior

Rafael Ymer: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Nick Fisk: 6' 2"; Freshman

Nikola Parichkov: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Oskar Antinheimo
: 6' 1"; Senior

Jack Curtis
: 5' 10"; Junior

Luke Forester
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Sophomore

Veljko Krstic
: 6' 2"; Senior

Charles Pilet
: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Alonso Roca
: 6' 1"; Junior

Rafael Ymer
: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Nick Fisk
: 6' 2"; Freshman

Nikola Parichkov
: 6' 0"; Sophomore