Elon University Men's Tennis

Leonard begins his 12th season as a the Elon University Director of Tennis and Head Mens Tennis Coach, as the Phoenix begins its third year in the CAA in the 2016-17 season. Leonards teams have amassed an impressive 184-108 record (.630) in dual matches during his tenure. Although the Colonial Athletic Association does not have a conference season, Leonard has guided his teams to a 4-1 mark against CAA teams during his first two seasons after finishing with an astounding 70-16 conference record (.814) in the Southern Conference from 2006-2014 while establishing Elon as a national power. For his efforts, he was recognized as the SoCon Coach of the Year in 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014. Elon completed its second season in the Colonial Athletic Association during the 2015-16 season, as the Phoenix recorded a 17-6 overall record and the No. 3 seed in the 2016 CAA Men's Tennis Championships. It was the third time in the last four seasons under Leonard's guidance that the Phoenix program amassed 17 or more dual match victories in a single season. Freshman Felipe Sarrasague was named 2016 CAA Rookie of the Year, becoming the fifth player in program history to earn the honor. All five Conference Rookie/Freshman of the Year players in program history have been under Leonard's tenure. Elon also placed six players on the All-Conference teams, and the Phoenix earned CAA Weekly honors four times during the season. For all of the team's achievements, Leonard earned his sixth-career Conference Coach of the Year honor. The Phoenix put together a 10-13 record in the program's first season in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2014-15. Stefan Fortmann became Elon's second player in program history to earn Conference Player of the Year honors. Elon overall has had players earn Conference Player of the Year honors three times (Cameron Silverman - 2x in 2013, 2014). Leonard has been the head coach for all of Elon's conference Players of the Year. The Phoenix placed three on the All-Conference teams as well as earning Player of the Week honors three times. Leonard continued his success with the mens tennis team finishing off the 2013-14 season with a 19-5 season record and leading the Phoenix to its highest national ranking in program history (39th). Elon opened the 2014 season with one of the greatest upsets in collegiate tennis history, as the Phoenix topped seventh-ranked Duke, 4-3, in Durham. His team went undefeated in the Southern Conference at 9-0, including an impressive 7-1 home record. Elon went into the SoCon Tournament as the overall top seed and came out with a championship after beating Chattanooga, Appalachian State and Furman. Leonard took his team into the NCAA Tournament where they dropped a hard-fought match to second-seeded Tennessee. Individually, Leonard helped Cameron Silverman earn SoCon Player of the Year honors and qualify for an appearance in the NCAA singles tournament for the second straight year en route to a national singles ranking that reached as high as No. 19. Additionally, Jordan Kaufman, Stefan Fortmann, Robert Lindgren, Brian Kowalski and Juan Madrid all earned all-league laurels. Leonard led the Phoenix to the leagues regular season title for the fourth time in seven years in 2013. Elon earned the top seed in the SoCon Mens Tennis Championship, advancing all the way to the title match. Leonard led the Phoenix to 17 victories in 2013 and a final ITA national ranking of No. 64. Leonard guided Cameron Silverman to SoCon Player of the Year honors, as Silverman earned a national singles ranking as high as No. 21 during the year and qualified for the NCAA singles tournament, becoming the first player in Elon history to win a first round match. Silverman and Stefan Fortmann also earned a doubles ranking as high as No. 22 during the season and made an appearance in the NCAA doubles tournament. Including Silverman and Fortmann, Leonard had a total of five student-athletes earn all-league honors in 2013, including Jordan Kaufman, Juan Madrid and Robert Lindgren.  Leonard led one of his players to SoCon Freshman of the Year honors for the second straight season, as rookie sensation Stefan Fortmann ended the year with a 16-7 mark. Silverman followed up his rookie of the year campaign with a 17-7 record as a sophomore on his way to first-team all-conference honors. In all, Leonard had four players earn all-league accolades in 2012. His 2011 squad went 18-7 overall and claimed the SoCon crown with a 9-1 ledger in league play. The Phoenix opened the year by upsetting No. 56 South Carolina by a 5-2 score. With a record of 6-5 after an extremely challenging early slate, Leonard's team reeled off eight consecutive victories and won 12 of its final 14 matches of the season. The Phoenix peaked at No. 65 in the ITA rankings during the year. The 2011 team boasted the league freshman of the year in Cameron Silverman while teammate Alberto Rojas earned the league's Don Bunch/Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award. Leonard took home SoCon Coach of the Year honors thanks to his team's performance. With a young team void of any seniors in the starting lineup and a challenging schedule in 2010, the Phoenix competed against some of the nations best to begin the season. Elon continued to improve as the season went on and earned one of the four seeds to the league tournament with a 6-4 SoCon record. The fourth-seeded Phoenix upset top-seeded College of Charleston, 4-3, in the semifinals to advance to the championship match for a fourth straight season. The title match came down to the wire with UNC Greensboro managing the 4-3 victory over the Phoenix. In 2009, Elon produced a 21-6 mark, its second 20-win season under Leonards tutelage. With a 9-1 regular-season league mark, the Phoenix came up just short in the SoCon Tournament championship match, falling to Furman in the final match. Damon Gooch and Philip Nemec became the first-ever Elon players to be selected to the NCAA Division I Mens Tennis Championship. Gooch, a four-time first-team All-SoCon honoree, competed in both singles and doubles, with Nemec as his doubles partner. Gooch ranked 20th individually and the doubles tandem of Gooch and Nemec ranked 56th the highest ITA ratings ever achieved by Elon players at the NCAA Division I level. Leonard guided the Phoenix to a 17-9 mark 7-2 in the league en route to a 2008 second-place finish in the conference regular season and tournament despite relying on four freshmen in the six singles spots. Gooch, one of Leonards first recruits, reached No. 72 in the national rankings. Four players were named all-conference with Oscar Podlewski becoming the Phoenixs second SoCon Freshman of the Year in three seasons. In 2007, Leonard led Elon to its first-ever SoCon Tournament championship in any sport, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Fashioning a 23-3 overall record, Elon surpassed its 1990 NAIA Division I national championship team (22-3) as the winningest squad in Phoenix mens tennis history. Leonard was a junior playing at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles on the 1990 team. Of the 2007 squads 23 wins, 13 were decided in shutout fashion. Elon finished the year ranked 44th in the country. The 2007 season also saw the Phoenix forge a perfect 12-0 mark against SoCon opponents and losses only to nationally-ranked foes Clemson, Duke and Wake Forest. Elons 14-match winning streak entering NCAA tournament action marked the programs longest streak since the 1993 squad won 17 matches in a row. The Phoenix finished 3-3 against nationally-ranked teams and 20-0 against unranked programs. Leonard led Elon from a last-place finish in the SoCon in 2005 to a share of first place in 2006 and the outright title in 2007. The remarkable turnaround saw the Phoenix go from 5-17 overall and 0-10 in the SoCon in 2005 to 19-5 overall and 8-1 in the SoCon in 2006 with a squad made up of all underclassmen. Gooch became Elons first SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2006 and was honored with Elons first-ever national ranking among NCAA Division I players at No. 120. Gooch and Austin Fenn also earned the programs first Division I doubles ranking (77th). The 2006 squad also became the first Elon mens tennis team to receive the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Award. Leonard has had at least one player earn ITA Scholar-Athlete distinction in each of his years as head coach. In his first season at Elon, Leonard coached ESPN The Magazine Second Team Academic All-American Pramote Malasitt to Stein H. Basnight Outstanding Athlete honors in 2005, recognizing him as the Elon male athlete of the year. Prior to coaching the Phoenix, Leonard served as the tennis director at the Raleigh Racquet Club (1995-2004) in Raleigh, N.C., where he was in charge of one of the largest junior programs in the South with nearly 200 juniors. He was also responsible for coordinating and implementing clinics, facilitating tennis and social activities for members and handling all financial operations of the tennis program. During his tenure, Leonard coached many nationally-ranked juniors, including two national champions. A 1991 Elon graduate, Leonard was named all-conference and all-district during each of his four years of competition. In 1991, he was tabbed the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and earned Stein H. Basnight Outstanding Athlete honors. An NAIA All-American in both 1990 and 1991, he was inducted into the Elon Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. Leonard continued his playing career after his college days, becoming the North Carolina state champion in 1992 and earning a No. 1 ranking in the North Carolina Mens Open Division. He played professional tennis in 1993-94, during which time he competed in circuit tournament competitions throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, England, Spain and Portugal, achieving a world ranking. Leonard and his wife, Amy, have two daughters, Olivia and Julia. LEONARD'S COACHING RECORD AT ELON 2005 - 5-17 (0-10 SoCon) 2006 - 19-5 (8-1 SoCon) - SoCon Co-champion - SoCon Coach of the Year 2007 - 23-3 (9-0 SoCon) - SoCon Champion - NCAA Tourney - SoCon Coach of the Year 2008 - 17-9 (7-2 SoCon) - SoCon Runner-up 2009 - 21-6 (9-1 SoCon) - SoCon Runner-up 2010 - 9-14 (6-4 SoCon) - SoCon Runner-up 2011 - 18-7 (9-1 SoCon) - SoCon Champion - SoCon Coach of the Year 2012 - 9-15 (5-5 SoCon) 2013 - 17-8 (8-2 SoCon)  SoCon Champion - SoCon Coach of the Year 2014- 19-5 (9-0 SoCon) SoCon Champion- NCAA Tourney - SoCon Coach of the Year 2015- 10-13 (Elon's First Season in the CAA) 2016- 17-6 CAREER - 184-108 (70-26 SoCon) RECORD vs. RANKED TEAMS (9-46)   Michael Leonard Director of Tennis and Head Men's Tennis Coach Twitter: elonmtennis The 2016 Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year and a five-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year, Michael Leonard begins his 12th season as a the Elon University Director of Tennis and Head Mens Tennis Coach, as the Phoenix begins its third year in the CAA in the 2016-17 season. Leonards teams have amassed an impressive 184-108 record (.630) in dual matches during his tenure. Although the Colonial Athletic Association does not have a conference season, Leonard has guided his teams to a 4-1 mark against CAA teams during his first two seasons after finishing with an astounding 70-16 conference record (.814) in the Southern Conference from 2006-2014 while establishing Elon as a national power. For his efforts, he was recognized as the SoCon Coach of the Year in 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014. Elon completed its second season in the Colonial Athletic Association during the 2015-16 season, as the Phoenix recorded a 17-6 overall record and the No. 3 seed in the 2016 CAA Men's Tennis Championships. It was the third time in the last four seasons under Leonard's guidance that the Phoenix program amassed 17 or more dual match victories in a single season. Freshman Felipe Sarrasague was named 2016 CAA Rookie of the Year, becoming the fifth player in program history to earn the honor. All five Conference Rookie/Freshman of the Year players in program history have been under Leonard's tenure. Elon also placed six players on the All-Conference teams, and the Phoenix earned CAA Weekly honors four times during the season. For all of the team's achievements, Leonard earned his sixth-career Conference Coach of the Year honor. The Phoenix put together a 10-13 record in the program's first season in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2014-15. Stefan Fortmann became Elon's second player in program history to earn Conference Player of the Year honors. Elon overall has had players earn Conference Player of the Year honors three times (Cameron Silverman - 2x in 2013, 2014). Leonard has been the head coach for all of Elon's conference Players of the Year. The Phoenix placed three on the All-Conference teams as well as earning Player of the Week honors three times. Leonard continued his success with the mens tennis team finishing off the 2013-14 season with a 19-5 season record and leading the Phoenix to its highest national ranking in program history (39th). Elon opened the 2014 season with one of the greatest upsets in collegiate tennis history, as the Phoenix topped seventh-ranked Duke, 4-3, in Durham. His team went undefeated in the Southern Conference at 9-0, including an impressive 7-1 home record. Elon went into the SoCon Tournament as the overall top seed and came out with a championship after beating Chattanooga, Appalachian State and Furman. Leonard took his team into the NCAA Tournament where they dropped a hard-fought match to second-seeded Tennessee. Individually, Leonard helped Cameron Silverman earn SoCon Player of the Year honors and qualify for an appearance in the NCAA singles tournament for the second straight year en route to a national singles ranking that reached as high as No. 19. Additionally, Jordan Kaufman, Stefan Fortmann, Robert Lindgren, Brian Kowalski and Juan Madrid all earned all-league laurels. Leonard led the Phoenix to the leagues regular season title for the fourth time in seven years in 2013. Elon earned the top seed in the SoCon Mens Tennis Championship, advancing all the way to the title match. Leonard led the Phoenix to 17 victories in 2013 and a final ITA national ranking of No. 64. Leonard guided Cameron Silverman to SoCon Player of the Year honors, as Silverman earned a national singles ranking as high as No. 21 during the year and qualified for the NCAA singles tournament, becoming the first player in Elon history to win a first round match. Silverman and Stefan Fortmann also earned a doubles ranking as high as No. 22 during the season and made an appearance in the NCAA doubles tournament. Including Silverman and Fortmann, Leonard had a total of five student-athletes earn all-league honors in 2013, including Jordan Kaufman, Juan Madrid and Robert Lindgren.  Leonard led one of his players to SoCon Freshman of the Year honors for the second straight season, as rookie sensation Stefan Fortmann ended the year with a 16-7 mark. Silverman followed up his rookie of the year campaign with a 17-7 record as a sophomore on his way to first-team all-conference honors. In all, Leonard had four players earn all-league accolades in 2012. His 2011 squad went 18-7 overall and claimed the SoCon crown with a 9-1 ledger in league play. The Phoenix opened the year by upsetting No. 56 South Carolina by a 5-2 score. With a record of 6-5 after an extremely challenging early slate, Leonard's team reeled off eight consecutive victories and won 12 of its final 14 matches of the season. The Phoenix peaked at No. 65 in the ITA rankings during the year. The 2011 team boasted the league freshman of the year in Cameron Silverman while teammate Alberto Rojas earned the league's Don Bunch/Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award. Leonard took home SoCon Coach of the Year honors thanks to his team's performance. With a young team void of any seniors in the starting lineup and a challenging schedule in 2010, the Phoenix competed against some of the nations best to begin the season. Elon continued to improve as the season went on and earned one of the four seeds to the league tournament with a 6-4 SoCon record. The fourth-seeded Phoenix upset top-seeded College of Charleston, 4-3, in the semifinals to advance to the championship match for a fourth straight season. The title match came down to the wire with UNC Greensboro managing the 4-3 victory over the Phoenix. In 2009, Elon produced a 21-6 mark, its second 20-win season under Leonards tutelage. With a 9-1 regular-season league mark, the Phoenix came up just short in the SoCon Tournament championship match, falling to Furman in the final match. Damon Gooch and Philip Nemec became the first-ever Elon players to be selected to the NCAA Division I Mens Tennis Championship. Gooch, a four-time first-team All-SoCon honoree, competed in both singles and doubles, with Nemec as his doubles partner. Gooch ranked 20th individually and the doubles tandem of Gooch and Nemec ranked 56th the highest ITA ratings ever achieved by Elon players at the NCAA Division I level. Leonard guided the Phoenix to a 17-9 mark 7-2 in the league en route to a 2008 second-place finish in the conference regular season and tournament despite relying on four freshmen in the six singles spots. Gooch, one of Leonards first recruits, reached No. 72 in the national rankings. Four players were named all-conference with Oscar Podlewski becoming the Phoenixs second SoCon Freshman of the Year in three seasons. In 2007, Leonard led Elon to its first-ever SoCon Tournament championship in any sport, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Fashioning a 23-3 overall record, Elon surpassed its 1990 NAIA Division I national championship team (22-3) as the winningest squad in Phoenix mens tennis history. Leonard was a junior playing at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles on the 1990 team. Of the 2007 squads 23 wins, 13 were decided in shutout fashion. Elon finished the year ranked 44th in the country. The 2007 season also saw the Phoenix forge a perfect 12-0 mark against SoCon opponents and losses only to nationally-ranked foes Clemson, Duke and Wake Forest. Elons 14-match winning streak entering NCAA tournament action marked the programs longest streak since the 1993 squad won 17 matches in a row. The Phoenix finished 3-3 against nationally-ranked teams and 20-0 against unranked programs. Leonard led Elon from a last-place finish in the SoCon in 2005 to a share of first place in 2006 and the outright title in 2007. The remarkable turnaround saw the Phoenix go from 5-17 overall and 0-10 in the SoCon in 2005 to 19-5 overall and 8-1 in the SoCon in 2006 with a squad made up of all underclassmen. Gooch became Elons first SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2006 and was honored with Elons first-ever national ranking among NCAA Division I players at No. 120. Gooch and Austin Fenn also earned the programs first Division I doubles ranking (77th). The 2006 squad also became the first Elon mens tennis team to receive the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Award. Leonard has had at least one player earn ITA Scholar-Athlete distinction in each of his years as head coach. In his first season at Elon, Leonard coached ESPN The Magazine Second Team Academic All-American Pramote Malasitt to Stein H. Basnight Outstanding Athlete honors in 2005, recognizing him as the Elon male athlete of the year. Prior to coaching the Phoenix, Leonard served as the tennis director at the Raleigh Racquet Club (1995-2004) in Raleigh, N.C., where he was in charge of one of the largest junior programs in the South with nearly 200 juniors. He was also responsible for coordinating and implementing clinics, facilitating tennis and social activities for members and handling all financial operations of the tennis program. During his tenure, Leonard coached many nationally-ranked juniors, including two national champions. A 1991 Elon graduate, Leonard was named all-conference and all-district during each of his four years of competition. In 1991, he was tabbed the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and earned Stein H. Basnight Outstanding Athlete honors. An NAIA All-American in both 1990 and 1991, he was inducted into the Elon Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. Leonard continued his playing career after his college days, becoming the North Carolina state champion in 1992 and earning a No. 1 ranking in the North Carolina Mens Open Division. He played professional tennis in 1993-94, during which time he competed in circuit tournament competitions throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, England, Spain and Portugal, achieving a world ranking. Leonard and his wife, Amy, have two daughters, Olivia and Julia. LEONARD'S COACHING RECORD AT ELON 2005 - 5-17 (0-10 SoCon) 2006 - 19-5 (8-1 SoCon) - SoCon Co-champion - SoCon Coach of the Year 2007 - 23-3 (9-0 SoCon) - SoCon Champion - NCAA Tourney - SoCon Coach of the Year 2008 - 17-9 (7-2 SoCon) - SoCon Runner-up 2009 - 21-6 (9-1 SoCon) - SoCon Runner-up 2010 - 9-14 (6-4 SoCon) - SoCon Runner-up 2011 - 18-7 (9-1 SoCon) - SoCon Champion - SoCon Coach of the Year 2012 - 9-15 (5-5 SoCon) 2013 - 17-8 (8-2 SoCon)  SoCon Champion - SoCon Coach of the Year 2014- 19-5 (9-0 SoCon) SoCon Champion- NCAA Tourney - SoCon Coach of the Year 2015- 10-13 ( 2016- 17-6 CAREER - 184-108 (70-26 SoCon) RECORD vs. RANKED TEAMS (9-46)