Elon Men’s Tennis Beats Furman in Battle of SoCon Unbeatens

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The 49th-ranked Elon University men’s tennis team defeated the 75th-ranked Furman Paladins today, April 5, by a score of 6-1 at the Mickel Tennis Center in a crucial match in the overall Southern Conference standings.

Entering the day, the Phoenix and Paladins were the only two undefeated teams in SoCon play with just a handful of matches remaining. With the win, Elon now stands alone at the top of the standings in its quest to repeat as the conference’s regular season champion.

“This is a great win for our team against a really good Furman team that has played so well this season,” said Elon head coach Michael Leonard. “Winning the doubles point was key for us, but we know we have to turn around quickly and get ready for another tough match tomorrow against Wofford.”

The match started with what turned into a nail biting doubles finish, as the point came down to the result on doubles court No. 3. After splitting the matches on the first two courts with Cameron Silverman and Jordan Kaufman winning 8-4 on court No. 1, Stefan Fortmann, the reigning SoCon Player of the Month, and Juan Madrid were forced into a tiebreaker with Alex Christ and Ben Horst. The two sides went back and forth in the tiebreaker, but it was the Elon pair that ultimately came out on top with an 8-7 (7-5) victory.

“Winning doubles really was huge for us,” Leonard said. “Juan really, really stepped up late in the tiebreaker winning a few points to help get us the point.”

After taking the initial point, Elon continued making its way to the match victory, but the victory did come easily as Furman fought tooth and nail trying to climb back into the match.

In first sets across the board, Fortmann, Madrid and Brian Kowalski each fell down 4-1 to start their respective matches. Though Kowalski couldn’t recover in his first set against Joel Cook, the junior rebounded in the second set to force a third set, ultimately taking the match 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Both Fortmann and Madrid did rebound from their respective deficits on court Nos. 2 and 6, respectively, as each player rallied back to win the first set before dominating second sets. To finish their individual matches after trailing 4-1, Fortmann went on a 12-2 run to win 7-6 (7-2), 6-0 and Madrid went on an 11-1 run to win 6-4, 6-1.

Elon also got wins from Silverman on court No. 1 and Robert Lindgren on court No. 3. Silverman, ranked No. 36 in the nation, beat Adam Steryous, the No. 94 player in the country, by a score of 6-2, 6-2 while Lindgren topped Luke Synn 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (11-9) in a super tiebreaker.

Kaufman was the only Elon player to fall on the afternoon, as the junior dropped a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 decision to Juan Sheppard on court No. 5.

The Phoenix returns to action tomorrow, April 6, against the Wofford Terriers in Spartanburg, S.C. With a win, Elon would clinch at least a share of the regular season title with one SoCon match remaining Wednesday, April 9, in a 3:30 p.m. match at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center against Appalachian State.

Tennis Match Results
Elon University vs Furman
Apr 05, 2014 at Greenville, S.C.
(Mickel Tennis Center)
#49 Elon University 6, #75 Furman 1

Singles competition
1. Cameron Silverman (ELON) def. Adam Steryous (FUR) 6-2, 6-2
2. Stefan Fortmann (ELON) def. Matt Browne (FUR) 7-6 (7-2), 6-0
3. Robert Lindgren (ELON) def. Luke Synn (FUR) 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (11-9)
4. Brian Kowalski (ELON) def. Joel Cook (FUR) 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
5. Juan Sheppard (FUR) def. Jordan Kaufman (ELON) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
6. Juan Madrid (ELON) def. Ben Horst (FUR) 6-4, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Joel Cook/Matt Browne (FUR) def. Cameron Silverman/Jordan Kaufman (ELON) 8-4
2. Robert Lindgren/Brian Kowalski (ELON) def. Jacob Behal/Adam Steryous (FUR) 8-4
3. Juan Madrid/Stefan Fortmann (ELON) def. Alex Christ/Ben Horst (FUR) 8-7 (7-5)

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,1,2,5,3,4)