BURLINGTON, N.C. – Fourth-seeded Elon University women's tennis topped fifth-seeded Drexel 4-0 in impressive fashion Friday morning, April 20, at the Burlington Tennis Center in the CAA Quarterfinals.
 
The victory pushed Elon to a 14-12 record on the year. Drexel's campaign ends at a strong 15-5. Elon has now reached the semifinals in each of its four years in the CAA after winning the Southern Conference Tournament in 2014, making it five years in a row Elon has made at least the conference tournament semifinals.
 
In Saturday's CAA Semifinals, Elon will meet the tournament's No. 1 seed and 41st-ranked William & Mary. Action at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center will get started at 2 p.m.
 
THE RUNDOWN
Opening the day, Olivia Lucas and Erica Braschi took down Clary Rodriguez Cruz and Salma Ziouti 6-2 at No. 2 doubles to push Elon halfway to the doubles point. While No. 3 went unfinished at 6-6, Maria Paraja and Alex Koniaev came back from a big early deficit to win 7-5 at No. 1 over Kendra Bunch and Ghita Benhadi to clinch the 1-0 lead heading to singles.
 
In singles play, the Phoenix took momentum from the doubles comeback and cruised to first-set victories on all six courts. From there, Koniaev made it 2-0 Elon with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Anisiya Simpson at No. 5 and Lucas topped Bunch 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 to make it 3-0 Elon. Closing out the morning, Kirsten Ward defeated Rodriguez Cruz 6-3, 6-2 to complete the sweep and move into the CAA Semifinals.
 
NOTES
-Elon and William & Mary did not meet during the 2018 regular season.
-The Phoenix has now beat Drexel in two of the last three CAA Quarterfinals. Elon also beat the Dragons 4-1 in 2016. The two matches are the only two meetings between the Phoenix and Dragons to date. 
-Elizabeth Anderson has now won 199 games as head coach of the Phoenix.
 
Singles Results
1. Olivia Lucas (ELON) def. Kendra Bunch (DREXEL) 6-2, 6-2
2. Erica Braschi (ELON) vs. Salma Ziouti (DREXEL) 6-2, 2-3, unfinished
3. Suzanne Zenoni (ELON) vs. Ghita Benhadi (DREXEL) 6-1, 6-5, unfinished
4. Maria Paraja (ELON) vs. Mya Fuentes (DREXEL) 7-6 (8-6), 1-1, unfinished
5. Alex Koniaev (ELON) def. Anisiya Simpson (DREXEL) 6-0, 6-3
6. Kirsten Ward (ELON) def. Clary Rodriguez Cruz (DREXEL) 6-3, 6-2
 
Doubles Results
1. Maria Paraja/Alex Koniaev (ELON) def. Kendra Bunch/Ghita Benhadi (DREXEL) 7-5
2. Olivia Lucas/Erica Braschi (ELON) def. Clary Rodriguez Cruz/Salma Ziouti (DREXEL) 6-2
3. Suzanne Zenoni/Kirsten Ward (ELON) vs. Mya Fuentes/Ryshena Providence (DREXEL) 6-6, unfinished
 
--ELON--