ELON, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb men's tennis squad took a break from Big South Conference action and traveled to Elon University on Saturday, but fell to the Phoenix, 5-2.

"I am really proud of the guys," said head coach Mike Griffith. "We lost a close doubles point, and the match could have gone either way. In the end, they were better than we were. I am happy we played a great Elon squad that made us better as we gear up for the final Big South Conference push next week."

Elon (16-4 overall) won the doubles point with wins in the No. 3 and 2 flights. At No. 2, Breno Plentz and Sebastian Harris teamed up but were defeated, 6-3. In the No. 3 position, senior Maximilian Scholl played alongside Jacob Wall, but the duo fell by a 6-3.

In the top flight, Johan Fors and Ross Gilbert led Felipe Sarrasague and Mario Paccini, 4-3, but the match went unfinished.

Gardner-Webb (9-7 overall) fell in the No. 3 through 6 singles but got victories in the No. 1 and 2 positions from Scholl and Plentz.

The Phoenix won three of their four singles match in straight sets, but Fors batted for three sets at No. 4. Fors won the opening set, 7-6 (4), before falling to Kyle Frankel in the final two sets.

At No. 2, Plentz got the Runnin' Bulldogs on the scoreboard with a win over Paccini. Plentz took the match, 7-6, 7-5 before Scholl capped the day with a three-set comeback win in the No. 1 flight.

Scholl extended his winning streak to 15 matches and now stands 15-1 overall in singles action. The senior from Stuttgart, Germany lost set one, 6-3, but allowed Sarrasague to win just three combined games in the final two sets. Scholl won 6-2 to force a third set, which he dominated, 6-1.

The Runnin' Bulldogs will return to action next week, closing out conference play with a three matches. The 'Dogs will welcome UNC Asheville (Tues, April 9) and Longwood (Sat, April 13) to Boiling Springs and travel to Hampton (Thurs, April 11).