CARY, N.C. – A historic run for the Elon University men’s tennis team came to an end today at the ITA Carolina Regional at the Cary Tennis Center, as Phoenix standout Cameron Silverman fell in straight sets in the singles championship, 6-2, 7-5, to North Carolina’s ninth-seeded Esben Hess-Olesen.
With an all around strong performance over the last four days in Cary, Silverman will await word on a possible at-large bid to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships in Flushing, N.Y., Nov. 8-11.
Silverman earned one of the most important wins in Elon men’s tennis history yesterday, as the junior from Mount Kisco, N.Y., pulled a three-set upset over the country’s top-ranked player, Henrique Cunha from Duke. In the first set, Silverman grinded his way to a 7-5 victory over Cunha to take an early advantage. But the country’s top-ranked player came back in the second set to even it up, topping Silverman 6-3 to force a third set. In the third, Silverman claimed a 6-4 victory to earn the win.
Silverman’s tournament began with a 6-1, 6-3 victory in the first round over Jack Williams from Charlotte. Silverman followed it up with a thrilling three-set win over UNC’s Stuart Depaolo (6-4, 2-6, 6-1) to advance even further. In his next match, Silverman recorded a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory versus UNCW’s Rafael Aita, ranked 55th in the nation, to move on to the quarterfinals. In the quarters, Silverman earned another upset win, topping the Blue Devils’ Michael Redlicki, 7-5, 6-3. Redlicki earned the distinction as the country’s top freshman/newcomer, as administered by the ITA.
“I am extremely proud of the performance by Cameron, as well as our entire team, over the last few days,” said Phoenix head coach Michael Leonard. “We’ve had some landmark wins for our program during this tournament and I’m excited about the progress our team as made as a whole this fall.”
Silverman and Stefan Fortmann also had a great run in doubles, as the tandem advanced all the way to the quarterfinals. Seeded eighth in the tournament, Silverman and Fortmann claimed a hard-fought 9-7 win in their first match against Charlotte’s Kamil Khalil and Krzysztof Kwasniewicz. Following an 8-2 win against College of Charleston’s Brian Allanic and Sebastian Lopez, the duo squared off against Wake Forest’s third-seeded team of David Hopkins and Amogh Prabhaker, who they beat in the doubles title match at the Wake Forest Fall Invitational last weekend. Silverman and Fortmann pulled off the upset victory again, topping Hopkins and Prabhaker with a dominant 8-2 decision to move on to the quarters.
Brian Kowalski and Jordan Kaufman also had a strong doubles performance for the Phoenix. The duo won a pair of matches in the main doubles draw, beginning with an 8-6 win over Simon Norenius and Rafael Paez from NC State. The tandem followed it up with an 8-6 win over Appalachian State’s Zach Bost and Sebastien King.
Robert Lindgren and Juan Madrid had an outstanding run in the doubles consolation draw, advancing all the way to the finals. The duo topped Dylan Comerford and Peter Nagovnak in the opening round before claiming a 9-7 win over UNC Asheville’s Adrien Langeard and Matthew Waissen. In their next two matches, Lindrgren and Madrid faced two tough teams, but came out with wins in both. The duo topped Matt Browne and Tyler Droll from Furman before an 8-5 win over UNC’s Stuart Depaolo and Oystein Steiro. The duo then beat Davidson’s Chris Mark and Kevin Moore to advance to the finals.
Kowalski and Carlos Arboleda performed well in singles play as well for the maroon and gold. Kowalski was victorious in his first two matches in the main singles draw, topping South Carolina’s Chip Cox in three sets (6-2, 2-6, 6-1) before a 6-4, 7-5 win over Furman’s Matt Browne.In the consolation singles flight, Arboleda opened with a win in straight sets (7-6 (2), 6-0) against Appalachian State’s Carson Greve before topping Winthrop’s Dylan Comerford in three sets (6-1, 2-6, 6-1).
Madrid and Lindgren also had impressive singles performances for the Phoenix. Madrid opened the main singles draw with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over North Carolina Central’s Tamina Kienka. Lindgren was successful in the consolation singles draw, earning a 6-1, 6-3 win over North Carolina’s James Coxe.