Elon Phoenix Advances to SoCon Men’s Tennis Finals with Win vs. Appalachian State

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Elon University men’s tennis team advanced to the Southern Conference Tournament finals for the sixth time in the last eight seasons today, April 18, with a 4-0 sweep of Appalachian State in the semifinals of the tournament at the Champions Club.

“The team competed really hard today,” said Elon head coach Michael Leonard. “It was great to see all six of our players come out and play hard from the first point to the last point today. Now we have to do it again tomorrow.”

The top-seeded Phoenix will now play in the finals tomorrow, April 19, against second-seeded Furman at 10 a.m. The Paladins advanced to the finals by winning a hard-fought 4-3 match over UNC Greensboro in which it had to come from behind to win.

Jordan Kaufman clinched the match for the Phoenix, as the junior earned his 14th win of the season in a 6-4, 6-4 victory on court No. 5 over Jack Maddocks.

Previously, Elon took victories on court Nos. 1 and 2 by Cameron Silverman and Stefan Fortmann. Silverman won a 6-4, 6-1 decision on court No. 1 over Appalachian State’s Sebastien King. He followed Fortmann on court No. 2, who won a 6-2, 6-0 decision over Oliver Casey.

Elon started the afternoon by winning the doubles point over the Mountaineer with wins on court Nos. 1 and 2. Silverman and Kaufman got Elon halfway to the point with an 8-4 victory over King and Zach Bost. Brian Kowalski and Robert Lindgren# then clinched the point for the Phoenix with an 8-2 win over Casey and Daniel Hoang on court No. 2.

The win marks the second time in the last nine days Elon has defeated Appalachian State. The Phoenix topped the Mountaineers last week on April 9 to win the SoCon regular season title for the second year in a row.

Setting up tomorrow’s SoCon final, Elon will be chasing its second SoCon Tournament title. Its first and only tournament win came in 2007. Furman is looking for its 15th title in school history, which would extend its all-time SoCon record to three over Chattanooga’s 12 tournament wins.

This season, the Phoenix defeated Furman on the road in Greenville, S.C. by a score of 6-1.

Results
No. 1 Elon 4, No. 4 Appalachian State 0

Singles
1. Cameron Silverman (Elon) def. Sebastien King (ASU), 6-4, 6-1
2. Stefan Fortmann (Elon) def. Oliver Casey (ASU), 6-2, 6-0
3. Robert Lindgren (Elon) vs. Zach Bost (ASU), 7-6, 3-0
4. Brian Kowalski (Elon) vs. Daniel Hoang (ASU), 6-7, 6-2, 0-0
5. Jordan Kaufman (Elon) def. Jack Maddocks (ASU), 6-4, 6-4
6. Ismael Sanchez Delfin (Elon) vs. Jan-Willem Kleynhans (ASU), 6-7, 3-4

Doubles
1. Cameron Silverman/Jordan Kaufman (Elon) def. Sebastien King/Zach Bost (ASU), 8-4
2. Brian Kowalski/Robert Lindgren (Elon) def. Oliver Casey/Daniel Hoang (ASU), 8-2
3. Juan Madrid/Stefan Fortmann (Elon) vs. Steve Lake/Jack Maddocks (ASU), 7-4