Box Score (.pdf)SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Trailing 3-1 in the match, Wofford's No. 1 singles player Rob Galloway battled hard against the ITA No. 36-ranked player Cameron Silverman of Elon pushing him to a third set. Although it was a hard fought match, Galloway was unable to pull out the win as the Wofford men's tennis team fell in their final home match of the season to the No. 49-ranked Elon University Phoenix, 5-2, Sunday afternoon on Senior Day at the John E. Reeves Tennis Center.
The Terriers fall to 8-10 overall and 3-4 in the Southern Conference with the loss, while the Phoenix improve to 15-3 overall and remain undefeated in conference with an 8-0 mark.
In doubles play, Elon came from behind to win the No. 3 and No. 2 matches to clinch the point and take a 1-0 lead. Haris Poric and Galloway defeated Jordan Kaufman and Silverman on the top court in a hard fought match 8-7, beating the Phoenix duo 7-4 in the tiebreak. However, Elon roared back first winning the No. 3 doubles, then No. 2 duo of Robert Lindgren and Brian Kowalski won 8-5 to clinch the point.
In singles play, Kaufman claimed the first point for Elon as he defeated Jackson Keith 6-2, 6-0, on the fifth court to give the Phoenix a 2-0 advantage. Kowalski extended Elon's lead again defeating Trevor Gotkowski, 6-3, 6-3, on the fourth court giving the Phoenix a 3-0 lead.
Parks Thompson then cut Elon's lead 3-1 winning on the bottom court. He battled with Juan Madrid in the first set winning 7-6 and winning the tiebreak 12-10. Thompson then fired back and won the second set with ease 6-0.
The final three matches at the No. 1, No. 3, and No. 2 courts were all going on at once to determine the winner with Elon ahead by two.
The top court match featured a great match between Galloway and Silverman. After Silverman took the first set 6-1, Galloway showed great fight in the second set as he took a commanding 5-0 lead. Silverman fought back and won three points, but Galloway finished off the set to win 6-3.
In the third set, both players traded points back and forth. Galloway took the first point and Silverman won the next two making the set score 2-1. Although Silverman took a 3-1 lead, Galloway was not phased and won two straight points tying the set 3-3.
Galloway found himself trailing 5-4, but with serve, he won the point to keep the match alive 5-5. Silverman then closed out the match winning the final two points. The both were at duce for the final point multiple times, but Silverman closed it out and clinched the match for Elon, making the overall score 4-1.
Wofford's Walker Heffron also had a great match as he defeated Robert Lindgren in a tight match on the third court. Heffron was trailing a set after falling 6-4 in the first, but he fought back winning the second 6-3. The third set ended up going to a tiebreak as Heffron won the set 7-6 (10-8), cutting into Elon's lead, 4-2.
Stefan Fortmann also had a hill to climb in his matchup against Poric to win the Phoenix's final point. Fortmann took the first set in a tight match 7-5, but Poric answered winning 6-4 in the second. In the third set, Fortmann was able to close out the match winning 6-4, giving Elon the 5-2 victory.
The Wofford men's tennis team will hit the road for their final two regular season matches. The first match is on Tuesday as they travel to Boone, North Carolina to take on Appalachian State at 2:30 p.m. The Terriers will then play their final regular season match against the Furman Paladins in Greenville, South Carolina on Friday at 3 p.m.
