| #4 Elon Phoenix (13-12) vs. #5 Drexel (15-4) |
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ELON, N.C. – No. 4-seeded Elon University women's tennis begins its journey through the 2018 CAA Women's Tennis Championships with a quarterfinal matchup on Friday, April 20, against the No. 5-seeded Drexel Dragons at the Burlington Tennis Center. First serve is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
TOURNAMENT FIELD
The Phoenix earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament after finishing with a overall record of 13-12, including a 2-1 record against CAA teams. No. 41-ranked William & Mary earned the No. 1 seed, while James Madison and Delaware are the No. 2 and 3 seeds, respectively. Rounding out the field is No. 6-seeded College of Charleston, No. 7-seeded UNCW, No. 8 Towson and No. 9-seeded Hofstra.
PARKING INFORMATION
With construction in progress around the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center this week, fans can park in
McMichael Parking Lot on
314 E. Haggard Ave., which is right across from the tennis facility. You can access the McMichael Lot on North O'Kelly Ave., which is at the traffic light on E. Haggard Ave. next to the Dalton L. McMichael, Sr. Science Center.
Parking at Powell House fac/staff lot on East College Ave. will be blocked for the entire week through Sunday, April 22. In addition to this, starting at 11 p.m. on Thursday, April 19, East College Ave. will be closed from North Antioch Ave. to Kerr Ave. through the conclusion of the tournament on Sunday, April 22. Any unauthorized vehicles in the Powell House lot or along East College Ave. during those times are subject to being ticketed and/or towed.
CAA CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
Making its fourth appearance in the CAA Championships, the Phoenix is 3-3 with three consecutive of semifinal appearances. This is the first year that Elon has been a No. 4 seed in the CAA Championships. The Phoenix was the No. 3 seed in 2015, and the No. 2 seed for the 2016 and 2017 championships. In quarterfinal matches, Elon has faced Towson twice and will be facing Drexel for the second time in the CAA tournament.
SERIES HISTORY
Friday's match will be just the second meeting between Elon and Drexel, as well as the second time in the CAA Championship quarterfinals. The Phoenix has a 1-0 lead in the series as No. 2-seeded Elon defeated No. 7-seeded Drexel, 4-1, on April 20, 2016, at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, N.C. Due to limited amount of time to compete, doubles was not played during the contest. Erica Braschi, Suzanne Zenoni and Kirsten Ward from the current roster all claimed points in singles action for the Phoenix.
Taylor Casey would clinch the match for the Phoenix with a three-set, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 triumph at No. 6 position.
SCOUTING DREXEL
The Dragons finished the regular season with a 15-4 mark, which included a 2-1 ledger against CAA foes with wins over Towson and Hofstra. Drexel has five players with double-digit singles wins this season in dual matches, which includes Ghita Benhadi (10-8), Anisiya Simpson (10-5), Kendra Bunch (12-4), Mya Fuentes (11-5), and Salma Ziouti (15-5). Ziouti, who has a team-best 15 singles wins and primarily plays at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, is currently on a five-match win streak heading into the tournament. Fuentes, who has played the No. 4, 5, and 3 singles positions this season, owns the team's longest individual winning streak of eight matches. In doubles play, Bunch and Benhadi have a 12-4 record playing primarily at the No. 1 position, while Ziouti and Clary Rodriguez Cruz also have a 12-4 record mainly playing the No. 2 position.
CAA HONORS
Suzanne Zenoni is the lone player for Elon to earn a weekly honor from the conference this season. She earned her first-career received CAA Player of the Week honor on April 10, following a perfect 2-0 week in singles action at the No. 3 position. Zenoni shared the league's weekly honor with William & Mary junior Lauren Goodman. The Marietta, Ga. native, had two dominating wins on the third court during Elon's 1-1 week.
CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS
Erica Braschi and Olivia Lucas are among the best in the program's Division I era history for dual matches. Braschi currently ranks 2nd all-time in singles victories and tied for 4th all-time in doubles wins. Lucas is ranked 7th all-time in career singles and 6th all-time in doubles victories.
HEAD COACH ELIZABETH ANDERSON
Elizabeth Anderson is in her 14th season as head coach of the Phoenix. She is currently at 198 victories and is two away from reaching 200 for her career. Since joining the CAA in 2015, the Phoenix has posted a 58-36 dual match record under the direction of Anderson. Last season, Anderson led the program to an 18-8 record, including an Elon Division I era program-best 14-2 mark at home. Anderson earned her first-ever year accolade during the team's second year in the league as she was named the 2016 CAA Coach of the Year after leading the Phoenix to a 5-1 record against CAA teams. She has led Elon to 14 or more wins in the last six seasons and guided the program to its first NCAA Tournament in 2014.
WELCOME BACK
The Phoenix returned seven players – Erica Braschi, Olivia Lucas, Maria Paraja, Kirsten Ward, Suzanne Zenoni, Sofia Edo and Alex Koniaev – from last year's squad. The returning players on this year's team accounted for 96 percent (95-of-99) of the team's singles wins and 88 percent (37-42) of doubles victories, from a team that reached the CAA Tournament semifinals last season. Highlighting the returners include All-CAA selections in Erica Braschi and Olivia Lucas. Maria Paraja also came off a season in which she posted 18 singles victories in dual match play, the 4th most wins in a single season in the program's Division I era.
FRESH FACES
Elon added two to its roster for the 2018 season. The Phoenix added Tyler Junior College transfer Montana Moore and freshman Mia Wallace to the fold. Moore helped lead Tyler Junior College to its 18th National Championship during her sophomore season, posting a 23-4 singles record and a 18-4 mark in doubles play. Wallace was the winner of the North State Individual Singles title and was a Massachusetts Singles State finalist as a senior in 2017 at Arlington High School (Mass.). Moore finished the fall season with a 5-5 singles record against tough competition, which included a win over North Carolina's Maggie Kane and Duke's Rebecca Smaller. Wallace completed the fall season with a 6-4 mark.
HOME COOKING
The Phoenix began the 2018 season at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center for six of its first 10 matches. Elon completed the 2017 season with a 14-2 mark, the most wins at home in a single season as a Division I program. Elon is 22-5 in its last 27 matches at home.
2018 CAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
For the third consecutive season, Elon was selected to host the CAA Men's and Women's Tennis Championships, which will be held April 19-22 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center and the Burlington Tennis Center. Before joining the Colonial Athletic Association in 2014-15, the last time the programs hosted a conference tournament was the 2013 Southern Conference Championships.
UP NEXT
If Elon defeats Drexel in Friday's quarterfinals, the Phoenix will face off against the winner of the William & Mary/No. 8 or No. 9 match in the semifinals on Saturday. The semifinal match is scheduled to be played at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
-- ELON --
