Elon Men’s Tennis Phoenix Defeats USC Upstate to Win Sixth-Straight Match

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Elon University men’s tennis claimed its sixth-straight victory Wednesday, March 21, with a 5-2 victory against USC Upstate at the USC Upstate Tennis Center.

THE RUNDOWN
Elon’s day started on the wrong end of the doubles point. Mario Paccini and Neal Port cruised to a 6-1 win over Ankush Arora and Francisco Neto, but that was the only doubles match the Phoenix would win with USC Upstate (3-12) taking 6-3 victories at Nos. 2 and 3 to go up 1-0.

In singles, Elon (11-5) got back on track with Paccini earning a quick 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 2 to tie the match at 1-1. Felipe Osses-Konig then made it 2-1 with his 10th win of the year, a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 5 over Ignacio Garrido.

Jacob Bicknell pushed Elon’s lead to 3-1 with a 6-3, 7-5 win against Lucas Percy at No. 6 and Kyle Frankel clinched Elon’s sixth-straight win with a come-from-behind, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 3 over Arora.

Closing out the day, Camilo Ponce earned a 6-2, 6-3 win over Luka Eble at No. 4. A victory at No. 1 for the Spartans closed the final margin to 5-2.

NOTES
-Mario Paccini has now won six singles matches in a row and is 10-5 on the spring season.
-Paccini, Felipe Osses-Konig and Felipe Sarrasague are all tied for the team lead with 10 singles victories. Camilo Ponce and Kyle Frankel are close behind at nine apiece.
-Port and Paccini are a combined 8-2 at No. 1 doubles this season. Together, the two have won each of their last four matches.

UP NEXT
After a week away from action, the Phoenix will play at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center one more time this month on Wednesday, March 28, with a 3 p.m. match against Davidson.

Singles Results
1. Felix Ewers (UPST) def. Felipe Sarrasague (ELON) 3-6, 6-4, 10-7
2. Mario Paccini (ELON) def. Francisco Neto (UPST) 6-3, 6-0
3. Kyle Frankel (ELON) def. Ankush Arora (UPST) 0-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Camilo Ponce (ELON) def. Luka Eble (UPST) 6-2, 6-3
5. Felipe Osses-Konig (ELON) def. Ignacio Garrido (UPST) 6-4, 6-3
6. Jacob Bicknell (ELON) def. Lucas Percy (UPST) 6-3, 7-5

Doubles Results
1. Mario Paccini/Neal Port (ELON) def. Ankush Arora/Francisco Neto (UPST) 6-1
2. Ignacio Garrido/Lucas Percy (UPST) def. Felipe Sarrasague/Louis Rico (ELON) 6-3
3. Luka Eble/Felix Ewers (UPST) def. Camilo Ponce/Taylor Foote (ELON) 6-3