ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s tennis snapped a four-match losing skid Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 8, with a 5-2 victory over Liberty in the Phoenix’s first home match of the 2017 season.
The win moves Elon to 2-5 on the season while Liberty drops to 2-2. The Phoenix has now won six of the last seven matches against the Flames dating back to the 2002 season.
The Rundown
Elon opened doubles action with a pair of 6-2 wins at Nos. 1 and 2. Felipe Sarrasague and Mario Paccini first topped Chase Burton and Max Borcuti at No. 1 before Petar Tomic and Chris Humphreys clinched the point with the win over Ryker Heller and Eddie Gutierrez at No. 2. Salvador Mijares and Taylor Foote were locked in a 4-4 battle at No. 3 before the Phoenix clinched the point.
In singles, Sarrasague quickly made it 2-0 in Elon’s favor with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Burton at No. 1. He was followed by Louis Rico’s 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 6 over Heller. Felipe Osses-Konig clinched the Phoenix victory with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 5.
With the match decided, Liberty earned a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 to make it 4-1, but Tomic answered with a come-from-behind 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (4) win at No. 4 to make it 5-1. The Flames finished off the match with a Vince Salas win over Mijares at No. 3. The match went back and forth before Salas won the third-set tiebreaker, 10-8.
Up Next
Elon continues a four-match homestand with a 1 p.m. contest against William & Mary on Saturday, Feb. 11. The match is scheduled to be played outdoors at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. All-time, Elon is 1-3 against the Tribe with the lone victory coming last season on April 3, a 5-2 win over then-No. 62 William & Mary.