Agate
Tournament Central

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Elon University women's tennis team swept sixth-seeded Towson, 4-0, today, April 17, to advance to the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Women's Tennis Championships hosted by William & Mary.
 
The third-seeded Phoenix took an early 1-0 lead with wins on two of the three doubles courts. Olivia Lucas and Bridget Liddell got things started with an 8-4 victory at No. 2 doubles against Towson's Ayana Dow and Lucy Williams.
 
Taylor Casey and Erica Braschi played a tight match against Barbora Vasilkova and Cailey Easdale at the No. 3 position, breaking Towson's serve to go up 7-6 and eventually winning, 8-7 (10-7), in a tiebreaker to clinch the doubles point.
 
Kirsten Ward and Barbora Lazarova led, 7-6, at No. 1 doubles but went unfinished.
 
Taking a 1-0 lead into singles play, Elon used three singles victories to secure the 4-0 win and advance. Ward was the first to finish, as she defeated Towson's Nicole Shakhnazarova, 6-1, 6-2. Braschi gave Elon a 3-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-1 victory, and Lazarova clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles.
 
Lucas won her first set and led late in the second set but didn't finish. Kamilla Beisenova led her match while Casey trailed on court No. 5 when played was ended.
 
Up next: Elon advances to face second-seeded College of Charleston in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament tomorrow, April 18, at 10 a.m. The Phoenix and Cougars played each other on April 10, with the Cougars earning a 4-3 victory at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.

How it happened: The Phoenix made quick work of the Tigers, winning the doubles point and taking three singles courts in straight sets to secure the match. Erica Braschi and Taylor Casey prevailed in a tiebreaker at No. 3 doubles to win the point while Braschi, Ward and Lazarova won in singles to clinch the match.

Notes: Ward has won six straight singles matches… Braschi and Casey extended their doubles winning streak to eight matches … Elon's contest against Towson was the first-ever match between the two schools … CofC has won six of the last seven matchups against Elon dating back to 2010