Elon Men’s Tennis Phoenix Sweeps SoCon Opener vs. Chattanooga

ELON, N.C. – The 40th-ranked Elon University men’s tennis team opened Southern Conference play today, March 1, with a convincing 7-0 win against Chattanooga at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.

“After last weekend when we didn’t play our best tennis, it was really good to see our guys come out with a hard fought match yesterday and build on that with a pretty match today against Chattanooga,” said Elon head coach Michael Leonard. “We’re going to practice some things we need to work on this week and get ready for what should be an exciting match next Saturday against Samford.”

Elon came out of the gates with poise as Cameron Silverman and Jordan Kaufman quickly earned breaks on court No. 1 to top Jorge Varon and John Peacey, 8-2. Just a minute later, Stefan Fortmann and Juan Madridclinched the doubles point for the Phoenix with an 8-5 win on court No. 5.

Stepping in at No. 6 singles, Ismael Sanchez Delfin made quick work of Derrick Brown, winning 6-1, 6-0. He was shortly followed by Jordan Kaufman on court No. 4, as the junior breezed by Peacey 6-2, 6-0 to give Elon a 3-0 lead.

Not long after Madrid finished, Robert Lindgren clinched the match for the Phoenix with a 6-0, 6-2 win on court No. 2.

Silverman, who is ranked No. 26 in the country, and Madrid then extended the Elon lead to 6-0 with wins on court Nos. 1 and 5, respectively. Silverman finished off Varon 6-1, 6-4 and Madrid beat Austin Boaz 6-2, 6-3.

Brian Kowalski was the only Elon player to lose his respective first set on the afternoon. The junior rallied back to win the second set convincingly before taking the super tiebreaker 10-5 to clinch his match on court No. 3 and the sweep for the Phoenix.

Elon has one week off before returning to the courts Saturday, March 8, at 1 p.m. against Samford. The match at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center is the second match of the season between the Bulldogs and Phoenix. Elon topped Samford 4-2 on January 25 in Charlottesville, Va. at the ITA Weekend Kickoff tournament. Saturday’s match will mark the first time Samford comes back to the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center since it beat Elon in the SoCon Tournament finals last April by a score of 4-3.

Tennis Match Results
Chattanooga vs Elon
Mar 01, 2014 at Elon, N.C.
(Jimmy Powell Tennis Center)
#40 Elon 7, Chattanooga 0

Singles competition
1. #26 Cameron Silverman (ELON) def. Jorge Varon (UTC) 6-1, 6-4
2. Robert Lindgren (ELON) def. Pavels Grigorjevs (UTC) 6-0, 6-2
3. Brian Kowalski (ELON) def. Gino Delavalle (UTC) 3-6, 6-2, 10-5
4. Jordan Kaufman (ELON) def. John Peacey (UTC) 6-2, 6-0
5. Juan Madrid (ELON) def. Austin Boaz (UTC) 6-2, 6-3
6. Ismael S. Delfin (ELON) def. Derrick Brown (UTC) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. Cameron Silverman/Jordan Kaufman (ELON) def. Jorge Varon/John Peacey (UTC) 8-1
2. Brian Kowalski/Robert Lindgren (ELON) def. Pavels Grigorjevs/Gino Delavalle (UTC) 8-5
3. Stefan Fortmann/Juan Madrid (ELON) def. Austin Boaz/Derrick Brown (UTC) 8-5

Match Notes:
Chattanooga 2-6, 0-1
Elon 6-3, 1-0; National ranking #40
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,4,2,1,5,3)