Agate

ELON, N.C. – Cameron Silverman won a tiebreaker in the third set to put the finishing touches on a 4-3 victory for the Elon University men’s tennis team on Saturday, April 6, against the College of Charleston Cougars.
 
With the match tied at 3-all, Silverman and College of Charleston’s Brice Allanic were the only two players remaining on the court. Silverman dropped the first set, 6-2, but stormed back in the second for a 6-2 win. Silverman and Allanic battled tooth and nail in the third, ultimately going to a tiebreaker. After trailing early in the tiebreaker, 3-1, Silverman rallied to tie it and eventually win it, 7-6 (7-3), to clinch Elon’s fourth point and the victory as the raucous crowd at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center erupted.
 
The Phoenix remains unbeaten in Southern Conference play at 7-0 with the victory, improving to 14-5 overall. College of Charleston drops to 10-7 (5-3 Southern Conference) with the setback.
 
“I have to give credit to Cameron Silverman for one of the gutsiest performances I’ve seen,” said Elon head coach Michael Leonard. “After the way he felt coming into today, I’m proud of the way he battled and helped our team to victory. We had several solid performances today and I look forward to getting back out there tomorrow against a tough Georgia Southern team.”
 
Elon jumped out to a 1-0 lead after sweeping doubles. Jordan Kaufman and Juan Madrid dispatched College of Charleston quickly at No. 3 with an 8-1 decision to give Elon early momentum. The 34th-ranked tandem of Silverman and Stefan Fortmann clinched the doubles point at No. 1 after posting an 8-3 win versus College of Charleston’s Brice Allanic and Charlie Ghriskey. Robert Lindgren and Brian Kowalski sealed the sweep at No. 2 with an 8-6 victory versus Sebastian Lopez and Crescente Lesser.
 
Kowalski pushed Elon out to a 2-0 lead at No. 5 singles after quickly topping College of Charleston’s Faiman, 6-1, 6-1.
 
Fortmann gave Elon a 3-0 lead at No. 2 singles, as the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Month continued his streak of solid play with a 6-4, 6-1, decision versus Lopez. Fortmann improves to 14-4 with the win and has won eight of his last ten matches.
 
The Cougars came back to tie the match at 3-all, coming up with big wins at No. 4, 6 and 3 to stave off match-point for the Phoenix and gain momentum.
 
But Silverman battled back at No. 1, coming up with a key victory to clinch the match for the Phoenix. Silverman improves to 13-6 overall and 6-1 against Southern Conference competition with the win.
 
Elon returns to the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. against Georgia Southern.