Elon Men’s Tennis Phoenix Pushes Through Slow Start to Sweep Davidson 7-0

ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s tennis got off to a slow start in both singles and doubles Wednesday afternoon, March 28, but responded each time to sweep Davidson 7-0 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.

“We started really slow in singles with most of us losing first sets,” said Elon junior Mario Paccini. “But I was really proud of our team to fight back to sweep this good Davidson team. It was kind of the same in doubles but other courts picked Neal (Port) and I up at No. 1 so this is a very good win for us.”

THE RUNDOWN
In doubles action, Paccini and Port battled with Artem Khrapko and Axel Fries to a 4-4 unfinished match at No. 1. Elsewhere, Camilo Ponce and Taylor Foote eased to a 6-2 win at No. 3 over Yash Parikh and Jack Riazzi and Felipe Sarrasague and Salvador Mijares clinched the point for Elon (12-5) with a 6-3 win at No. 2 against David Hager and Shamael Chaudhry.

To open singles play, the Phoenix struggled in losing four of six first sets. But Sarrasague and Ponce both won their respective first sets and breezed to straight-set wins with Sarrasague defeating Khrapko 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1 and Ponce beat Hager 6-3, 6-2 at No. 5.

Looking to turn things around, Paccini breezed through the second set at No. 2 against Chaudhry and went on to take the third to clinch the match with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory. At No. 4, Mijares came back from a first-set loss to beat Thomas Mason 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to make it 5-0 Phoenix.

In the last two matches on court, Jacob Bicknell came back from a tough tiebreaking loss in the first set against Riazzi to win 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6. At No. 3, Kyle Frankel polished off the sweep with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win.

NOTES
-Paccini pushed his singles winning streak to seven in a row with the win and now stands at 11-7 on the season.
-Both of Elon’s freshmen – Ponce and Frankel – reached 10 wins this spring with victories Wednesday.
-Sarrasague and Paccini, Elon’s top two singles players, are leading the team with 11 wins apiece this season.
-In all, the Phoenix is 66-36 in singles play this spring, having won 64.7 of its individual singles matches to date.
-The loss moved Davidson to 12-5 on the season. It is 4-0 to this point in Atlantic 10 action.

UP NEXT
Elon will start a three-match road trip that will mark the final road matches of the year for the team on Saturday, March 31, with a visit to Charlotte. First serve is set for 11:30 a.m. in North Carolina’s Queen City. A day later, the Phoenix will visit Georgia State for a 2 p.m. match on Sunday, April 1.

Singles Results
1. Felipe Sarrasague (ELON) def. Artem Khrapko (DAV) 6-2, 6-3
2. Mario Paccini (ELON) def. Shamael Chaudhry (DAV) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. Kyle Frankel (ELON) def. Axel Fries (DAV) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
4. Salvador Mijares (ELON) def. Thomas Mason (DAV) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Camilo Ponce (ELON) def. David Hager (DAV) 6-3, 6-2
6. Jacob Bicknell (ELON) def. Jack Riazzi (DAV) 6-7, 6-4, 6-3

Doubles Results
1. Neal Port/Mario Paccini (ELON) vs. Artem Khrapko/Axel Fries (DAV) 4-4, unfinished
2. Felipe Sarrasague/Salvador Mijares (ELON) def. David Hager/Shamael Chaudhry (DAV) 6-3
3. Camilo Ponce/Taylor Foote (ELON) def. Yash Parikh/Jack Riazzi (DAV) 6-2