RALEIGH, N.C. – The Elon University men’s tennis team rallied from two points down to tie NC State late in the match, but dropped a 4-3 decision to the 34th-ranked Wolfpack on Friday, Feb. 8, at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
Elon (1-2) trailed NC State (4-2), 3-1, after winning the doubles point but dropping the first three singles matches. The Phoenix showed its resiliency to battle back, as Cameron Silverman and Stefan Fortmann both grinded out wins at No. 1 and 2 singles to tie the match at 3-all, with Robert Lindgren remaining at No. 3 singles.
Lindgren fought NC State’s Thomas Weigel tooth and nail, winning the first set, 6-4, to take an early edge. But Weigel battled back, grinding out a 7-6 (8-6) win in the second set and a 6-4 victory in the third to clinch the match for the Pack.
“I’m proud of the way we battled and competed today against a quality opponent,” said Elon head coach Michael Leonard. “We had several great performances today and our guys fought hard at every position.”
Elon took an early 1-0 match lead over the Pack by winning the doubles point. Silverman and Fortmann, ranked No. 22 in the nation in doubles, won quickly at the No. 1 position versus Robbie Mudge and Sean Weber, 8-2, to give the maroon and gold momentum. At No. 3, Lindgren and Juan Madrid clinched the doubles point by claiming an 8-4 decision against Dave Thomson and Thomas Weigel.
NC State came back to take the next three points at No. 5, 6 and 7 singles to claim a 3-1 lead over the Phoenix.
Elon stormed back to tie it at 3-all after Silverman, ranked No. 21 in the nation in singles, topped Mudge in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, at No. 1 to make it a 3-2 match.
Fortmann, ranked No. 117 in the nation, topped Powell in straight sets, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, to bring Elon back.
The Phoenix returns to action Sunday night at 6 p.m. when it takes on Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C.
These guys are putting out some incredible performances against some top quality (ACC) teams. Hats off to Coach Leonard and Assistant Coach Joe “Stallion” Lisi.