Final Draw

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Elon University men’s tennis team concluded action at the Wake Forest Fall Invitational today, Oct. 14, at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
 
The doubles team of Cameron Silverman and Stefan Fortmann had an outstanding tournament for the Phoenix, as the duo defeated Wake Forest’s David Hopkins and Amogh Prabhakar, ranked 17th in the nation, with a 9-7 decision in the championship match. The duo trailed 6-2 in the match and grinded its way back to win in dramatic fashion. Silverman and Fortman also topped the 57th-ranked doubles team of Chris Cooprider and Kosta Blank from UNCW, 8-6, earlier in the tournament.

“This was a great tournament for Stefan and Cam,” said Phoenix head coach Michael Leonard. "They were down in three of their matches this weekend and found a way to come back and win all three. The fight and determination they showed all weekend was impressive. It was also great to see some of our young guys get some solid victories over strong competition. Hopefully we will continue to improve as we head to the ITA Carolina Regional.”

Fortmann also performed well in singles action, as the reigning Southern Conference Freshman of the Year opened the tournament with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 victory over NC State’s Thomas Weigel.
 
Silverman placed fifth for the Phoenix in his singles bracket, claiming a pair of wins over two Southern Conference foes in the fifth-place bracket. Silverman handed UNCG’s Randy Phillips a 6-2, 6-3 decision before topping Davidson’s Nicky Kunz, 6-2, 6-1. In the opening round, Silverman topped Wake Forest’s Delcore, 6-3, 6-2.
 
After opening up the tournament with a hard-fought loss to Wake’s Prabhakar in the first round, rookie Robert Lindgren bounced back to advance all the way to the consolation final. Lindgren topped Ethan Dunbar from Richmond, 6-4, 7-6 (3), in the consolation round of eight to advance further. Lindgren moved on to the consolation finals after battling to a three-set win (4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4) against NC State’s Simon Norenius.
 
Dan Sablik also registered an opening round win in straight sets over Norfolk State’s Kent Austin in the tournament, 6-4, 7-5, and went on to a seventh place finish in his flight.
 
After an opening round setback, Elon’s Chris Geaslen went on to back-to-back wins in singles to advance all the way to the consolation finals in his flight. Geaslen beat Longwood’s Steed Johnson in three sets (7-6(0), 1-6, 6-2) before claiming a 7-5, 6-2 victory over East Tennessee State’s Connor Knox.

Ismael Sanchez Delfin was also victorious for the Phoenix, claiming a 6-4, 6-3 win over Longwood's Edward Becker in his singles flight.
 
The Phoenix concludes its fall season next week with the ITA Carolina Regional in Cary, N.C. Play begins on Thursday, Oct. 18 and runs until Sunday, Oct. 21.