A year ago, Elon lost both men's and women's Southern Conference tennis
titles, 4-3, on its home court.
Today at the Champions Club, sadness turned to joy as the year long
wait was worth it as the two Phoenix teams claimed SoCon championships.
The Elon men edged Furman, 4-1, followed by the women's, 4-2, triumph
against Samford..
Elon Men 4, Furman 1
The Phoenix won the regular season (9-0) title and followed that by beating
Chattanooga (4-0), Appalachian State and Furman (4-1) in the
tournament for the school's first men's tennis title since 2007.
Number two seeded Furman won two out of three matches to claim the doubles
point, including an 8-5 win at No.2 by Brian Kowalski-Robert Lindgren who
trailed 4-2 before winning eight of the final nine games.
Top-seeded Elon clinched the title when Stefan Fortmann defeated Matt
Browne, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 at No.2 singles. Fortmann won his last 15 matches after
starting the season 1-5.
Elon 4, Furman 1
doubles (worth 1 team point)
1 Matt Browne-Joel Cook (Furman)def. Cameron Silverman-Jordan Kaufman, 8-5
2 Brian Kowalski-Robert Lindgren (Elon) def. Adam Steryous-Jacob Behal, 8-5
3 Stefan Fortmann-Juan Madrid (Elon) def. Alex Christ-Ben Horst, 8-2
order of finish: 3-1-2
singles
Cameron Silverman (Elon) def. Adam Steryous, 6-1, 6-3
Stefan Fortmann (Elon) def. Matt Browns, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
Robert Lindgren (Elon) vs. Luke Synn, 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 unfinished
Brian Kowalski (Elon) def. Joel Cook, 6-2, 6-3
Juan Sheppard (Furman) def. Jordan Kaufman, 6-4, 6-3
Ben Horst (Furman) vs. Juan Madrid, 6-4, 2-6, 2-1 unfinished
order of finish: 1-5-4-2
Elon Women 4, Samford 2
The No.4 seeded Elon women beat higher seeds in the semis (No.1 Furman) and in the
finals (No.2 Samford) to win their first ever Southern Conference tennis
championship.
The Phoenix won the doubles point for a 1-0 lead, but Samford evened it with
a win at No.1 singles by Stephanie N'tcha.
Elon then won three of the next four singles matches for the win as Maria
Camara Ruiz rallied for a three-set win (1-6, 6-3, 6-4) at No.5 for the team
victory.
Elon (15-8, 9-3) had lost to Furman (17-6, 10-1) and Samford (20-3, 10-2)
by 4-3 scores during the regular season.
Win The Doubles Point: In the losses to Furman and Samford, Elon lost the doubles point. This week, Elon reversed that, won the doubles point in both matches on the way to the title.
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doubles
1. Jordan Johnston-Barbora Lazarova (Elon) def. Kristin Lewis/Emily
Mallory, 8-5
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2. Frida Jansake-Maria Camara Ruiz (Elon) def.
Yasmeen Ebada/Carita Moolman, 8-7
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3. Stephanie N'tcha/Jessica Northcutt (SAM) def. Taylor Casey-Bryn Khoury,
8-6
order of finish: 1-3-2
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singles
1. Stephanie N'tcha (SAM) def. Jordan Johnston, 6-3, 6-2
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2. Frida Jansaker (Elon) def. Kristin Lewis, 6-1,
6-4
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3. Bryn Khoury (Elon) led Yasmeen Ebada, 4-6,
6-4, 4-0 unfinished
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4. Barbora Lazarova (Elon) def. Jessica
Northcutt, 6-3, 6-3
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5. Maria Camara Ruiz (Elon) def. Emily Mallory,
1-6, 6-3, 6-4
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6. Lauren Caballero (SAM) def. Tolley Rice, 6-3, 7-5
order of finish 1-4-2-6-5
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net
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