RICHMOND, Va. – Elon head coach Maciek Sykut was named CAA Coach of the Year on Friday with four Phoenix also appearing on All-CAA Teams as the conference unveiled its postseason men's tennis awards. 
 
Veljko Krstic was named to the All-CAA First Team for both singles and doubles, with Nikola Parichkov joining him with a First Team doubles nod. Rafael Ymer was also a First Team singles honoree and made the Third Team in doubles with partner Jack Curtis, who rounded out Elon's selections with a Third Team singles spot.  
 
Sykut is in his second season leading the Phoenix and guided Elon to its first CAA championship since 2019. The Phoenix is 8-12 this season and defeated William & Mary and four-time defending conference champion UNCW in the CAA Tournament to secure the program's fourth NCAA Tournament bid. Sykut joins Michael Leonard (2016, 2019) as Elon coaches to take home the award since joining the conference in 2014-15.  
 
This is Krstic's third consecutive All-CAA First Team selection in singles, becoming the first Phoenix to make three straight First Teams in singles since Felipe Sarrasague made four in a row from 2016-19. Krstic is second on the Phoenix with eight dual singles victories this spring, including conference wins against William & Mary (x2) and Campbell, highlighted by a win over the Tribe in Elon's CAA semifinal victory. Krstic, who finished third in singles at ITA Carolina Regionals and represented the CAA at ITA Conference Masters in the fall, has been ranked throughout the spring, peaking at No. 60. Krstic was named CAA Player of the Week for the third time in his career on March 31 after a win over No. 56 Old Dominion.  
 
With a 16-3 dual record this season, Ymer made his second straight First Team in singles. The sophomore has won nine straight matches entering the NCAA Tournament, including the victories that clinched both of Elon's CAA Tournament wins over William & Mary and UNCW. Ymer notched an ITA ranked win in January, besting No. 73 Alexander Frusina of Texas A&M. He has also delivered wins against NC State and Old Dominion, both of whom were ranked. Ymer went 4-0 against CAA opponents this spring and is 8-1 in deciding sets and match tiebreaks. Of Ymer's 16 victories, 15 have come playing the No. 2 spot, with the other coming in his second career appearance at the No. 1 position against Georgia State.  
 
Curtis rounded out Elon's All-CAA singles selections, landing on the Third Team for a second straight season. Curtis won six matches this spring at the Nos. 2-4 spots, finishing with a 3-0 record against conference foes. The junior won his singles point in the CAA championship match against UNCW to go along with regular season triumphs over Campbell and William & Mary. Three of his six victories came playing the No. 3 spot, which he played during the CAA Tournament.  
 
Krstic earned his third straight All-CAA Doubles nod but made the First Team for the first time in his career alongside Parichkov. The duo is Elon's winningest tandem this season with seven victories at the top spot. They started the season with a win over the ITA's No. 70 ranked pairing of Othman Bezzaz and Ernesto Ruy from Saint Joseph's. Krstic and Parichkov went 3-0 in conference matches, highlighted by wins in the CAA Tournament over William & Mary and UNCW. The duo defeated William & Mary's Oliver Hague and Gur Trakhtenberg, one of the other two First Team pairings, twice in tiebreaks this spring. Krstic and Parichkov capped off the fall season by representing the CAA at ITA Conference Masters.  
 
Curtis and Ymer secured their second straight All-CAA selection as a pair, landing on the Third Team after making last year's Second Team. The duo went 6-3 playing the No. 2 spot this spring, with a CAA Tournament victory over the Tribe. Elon's No. 2 tandem also won matches against Saint Joseph's, UNCG, Charlotte, Georgia State and Big East Champion St. John's. The pairing has gone 16-7 in the last two seasons for the Phoenix.  
 
Elon opens the NCAA Tournament in the first round Friday against No. 12 Georgia in Athens, Georgia. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Center.  
 
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2026 CAA Men's Tennis Postseason Awards 
CAA Player of the Year: Lukas Steffen, UNCW 
CAA Rookie of the Year: Tomas Marin, UNCW 
CAA Coach of the Year: Maciek Sykut, Elon 
 
First Team All-CAA Singles 
Thomas Drapeau, Campbell 
Tarek Erlewein, Drexel 
Veljko Krstic, Elon 
Lukas Steffen, UNCW 
Gur Trakhtenberg, William & Mary 
Rafael Ymer, Elon 
 
Second Team All-CAA Singles 
Will Burridge, Drexel 
Alex de Gabriele, UNCW 
Jordi Domenech, UNCW 
Oliver Hague, William & Mary 
Louis Keller, Monmouth 
Jakub Solarski, Charleston 


Third Team All-CAA Singles 
Jakob Bonnett, Monmouth 
Nikita Bortnichek, William & Mary 
Jack Curtis, Elon 
Alex Fragasso, Campbell 
Rafael Padilha, Hampton 
Kaua Santos, North Carolina A&T 
 
First Team All-CAA Doubles  
Will Burridge/Tarek Erlewein, Drexel 
Oliver Hague/Gur Trakhtenberg, William & Mary 
Veljko Krstic/Nikola Parichkov, Elon 
 
Second Team All-CAA Doubles  
Jakob Bonnett/Louis Keller, Monmouth 
William Dean/Lukas Steffen, UNCW 
Brady Hussey/Alex de Gabriele, UNCW 
 
Third Team All-CAA Doubles  
Jindrich Brill/Kaua Santos, North Carolina A&T 
Jack Curtis/Rafael Ymer, Elon 
Ram Mude/Jake Smith, Charleston