ELON, N.C. – The No. 3-seeded Elon University men’s tennis squad begins its journey through the 2016 CAA Men’s Tennis Championships when they host the No. 6-seeded Hofstra Pride on Friday, April 2, at the Burlington Tennis Center. Once the morning matches are complete, Elon’s match will begin after one hour of warmups.
RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY…
There is rain expected to hit in the area tomorrow in the early afternoon. If tomorrow’s match experiences a threat of rain, Elon vs. Hofstra will be moved indoors at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro, N.C. The match would then start around 12:30 p.m. All quarterfinals matches will play singles first.
THE FIELD
The Phoenix earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament after a finishing with an overall record of 16-5 and an 11-3 mark at home. UNC Wilmington earned the top spot while Charleston and William & Mary are the No. 3 and 4 seeds, respectively. Rounding out the field is fifth-seeded Drexel, sixth-seeded Hofstra, seventh-seeded James Madison and eighth-seeded Delaware.
LAST TIME OUT
Elon ended the regular season with a 6-1 victory over East Carolina on Senior Day at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. Senior Robert Lindgren was honored before the match. The Phoenix finished the regular season winning nine of its last 10 matches.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Phoenix and the Pride. Since joining the Colonial Athletic Association, Elon is 5-2 overall against conference opponents. There is not a conference season in the CAA.
POSTSEASON AWARDS
Five Elon players were awarded postseason honors and Michael Leonard was named CAA Coach of the Year as announced by the CAA on April 20. Felipe Sarrasague was named Rookie of the Year. Sarrasague was also named first-team All-CAA in singles along with fellow freshman Mario Paccini. Robert Lindgren earned a spot on the second team All-CAA in singles after posting a 13-5 record at No. 3 and he and Paccini were named second-team All-CAA in doubles after an impressive season at the No. 2 position. Petar Tomic and Chris Humphreys earned a spot on the All-CAA first team in doubles and Neal Port was named to the All-Academic team.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
True freshmen have been carrying a heavy load for the Phoenix so far this season. Taylor Foote (1), Salvador Mijares (13), Felipe Osses-Konig (5), Mario Paccini (12) and Felipe Sarrasague (14) have combined for 45 of the team’s 80 singles wins during the regular season. Sarrasague has a team-high 14 singles wins, while Salvador Mijares has 13 and Paccini has 12 victories.
UP NEXT
If Elon advances past Hofstra, it will face the winner of No. 2 College of Charleston and No. 7 James Madison in the CAA Championship semifinals at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 23, at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
HEAD COACH MICHAEL LEONARD
Michael Leonard is in his 12th season as Elon’s director of tennis and head men’s tennis coach. Leonard is a five-time winner of the Southern Conference Coach of the Year award and has led the program to five conference championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
2016 CAA TOURNAMENT
Elon was selected to host the 2016 Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships, which will be held April 21-24 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center and the Burlington Tennis Center. It marks the first-ever CAA Tournament hosted by the Phoenix and first conference tournament hosted by the program since the 2013 SoCon Tournament.