ELON, N.C. – Top-seeded UNCW men's tennis defeated No. 2 Elon 4-2 to win the 2025 Coastal Athletic Association Championship, beating Elon in the finals for the fourth straight season to win its fifth straight and 11th overall CAA title on Sunday afternoon at Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
Senior transfer Joseph Wayand moved to 14-3 on the year and clinched the championship for the UNCW with his 10th straight victory. Wayand prevailed in an instant classic at No. 3 singles 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 against Oskar Antinheimo.
The 69th-ranked Seahawks won their ninth straight match to improve to 12-7 on the season, while Elon, the tournament host, finished the year at 11-8. UNCW has won more conference titles than all other teams in the CAA combined under Mait DuBois, the head coach for all of UNCW's 11 conference championships since 2009.
At No. 1 doubles, Jordi Domenech and Wayand moved to 8-1 with their seventh straight victory, a 6-1 triumph against Veljko Krstic and Oskar Antinheimo.
Harold Huens and Lukas Steffen clinched the point for the Seahawks at No. 3 doubles with a 6-3 win against Charles Pilet and Juan Sengariz for their eighth win of the year. Playing close to the net, Huens smashed a winner to give the Seahawks momentum heading into singles.
Elon tied the match at 1-1 with Jack Curtis' 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles against Trey Mallory.
At No. 5 singles, Steffen countered with his 11th win of the season to put the Seahawks ahead 2-1. The junior prevailed in the first set, edging a wild tiebreaker 7-6 (6). He controlled the second set 6-3 to defeat Pilet.
Elon responded with a comeback win at No. 6 singles as Juan Sengariz defeated Domenech 3-6, 6-3, 5-2 to tie the match at 2-2.
Senior Sam Nicholson punched back for the Seahawks with a key victory at No. 2 singles against Rafael Ymer. Nicholson took the first set 6-4 and gave UNCW a 3-2 lead after an epic 7-6 (2) tiebreaker in the second set. He improved to 12-5 on the year with his ninth straight win.
As Huens led Kristic 7-6 (1), 6-5 at No. 1 singles, Wayand, the team's leader in wins, delivered on court No. 3 to bring home the gold.
The Seahawks will hear their name called on April 28 at 5:30 p.m. to determine their opponent at the NCAA Regionals.
