Yale Steals Tight 4-3 Win From Elon Men’s Tennis Phoenix

ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s tennis went back and forth against Yale Sunday, Feb. 25, at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, but the Phoenix couldn’t hold on as the Bulldogs won a 4-3 decision.

THE RUNDOWN
Elon (5-5) opened the day with its first doubles loss since Jan. 23 at No. 1 Wake Forest. Though Neal Port and Mario Paccini were up 5-3 at No. 1, the match went unfinished with Yale (6-4) earning a pair of 6-2 victories at Nos. 2 and 3.

The Phoenix got off to a great start in singles, though, with Kyle Frankel and Camilo Ponce each winning at Nos. 3 and 6. Frankel defeated Ziqi Wang 6-3, 6-4 to make it 1-1 and Ponce topped Alan Sou 6-4, 6-2 at No. 6 to make it 2-1.

Though Dylan King made it 2-2, Felipe Sarrasague gave the Phoenix a 3-2 lead with a 6-1, 6-4 victory at No. 1 over Andrew Heller. From there, Elon had its chances but breaks went Yale’s way across the board with Fedor Andrienko winning 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 at No. 5 against Felipe Osses-Konig and Stefan Doehler beating Salvador Mijares 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 at No. 4.

NOTES
-At No. 4, Mijares was up 5-2 in the third set before Doehler rebounded to take the last five games to win the match for the Bulldogs.
-At No. 5, Osses-Konig was down 5-1 in the third set, but he battled back to tie the set at 5-5 before falling in the tiebreaker.

UP NEXT
Elon will continue a five-match homestand next weekend when it welcomes CAA foe UNCW for a Saturday, March 3, match at 12 p.m. at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.

Yale 4, Elon 3
Singles competition
1. Felipe Sarrasague (ELON) def. Andrew Heller (YALE) 6-1, 6-4
2. Dylan King (YALE) def. Mario Paccini (ELON) 6-2, 7-5
3. Kyle Frankel (ELON) def. Ziqi Wang (YALE) 6-3, 6-4
4. Stefan Doehler (YALE) def. Salvador Mijares (ELON) 7-5, 2-6, 7-5
5. Fedor Andrienko (YALE) def. Felipe Osses-Konig (ELON) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6
6. Camilo Ponce (ELON) def. Alan Sou (YALE) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Neal Port/Mario Paccini (ELON) vs. Fedor Andrienko/Stefan Doehler (YALE) 5-3, unfinished
2. Nathan Brown/Dylan King (YALE) def. Salvador Mijares/Felipe Sarrasague (ELON) 6-2
3. Ziqi Wang/Andrew Heller (YALE) def. Camilo Ponce/Taylor Foote (ELON) 6-2