ELON, N.C. – Looking to upset the No. 1 seed in the 2018 CAA Tournament, fourth-seeded Elon University women's tennis fell just short by the final score of 4-2 on Saturday, April 21, at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center against No. 41 William & Mary.
 
The loss puts Elon at 14-13 for the season. William & Mary now stands at 16-9 and reaches the CAA Finals, where it will battle second-seeded James Madison at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 22, at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
 
"We played our best tennis in this tournament and we played our hearts out today," said Elon head coach Elizabeth Anderson. "I'm so proud of our team and I'm so proud of our seniors for what they accomplished. William & Mary has a very good team and they played well, but we took them about as close as you can take them without winning so credit to them and best of luck to them in the finals but I'm really proud of our team and our fight."
 
THE RUNDOWN
Playing through what was a wildly entertaining doubles point, all three matches on court went to tiebreakers and all three were played simultaneously with Elon earning the point in front of its home crowd. At No. 2, Olivia Lucas and Erica Braschi defeated Rosie Cheng and Olivia Thaler 7-6 (2) to win the first match of the day. Suzanne Zenoni and Kirsten Ward at No. 3 then polished off the point with a 7-6 (6) win over Charlotte Madson and Clara Tanielian. At No. 1, Maria Paraja and Alex Koniaev were two points back at 5-3 before Zenoni and Ward won the point for the Phoenix.
 
In singles action, Thaler put William & Mary on the board with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6, but Paraja topped Lauren Goodman 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4 to put the Phoenix back on top at 2-1 through two singles matches.
 
At No. 5, Ekaterina Stepanova tied the match at 2-2 with a 6-3, 6-4 win. Looking to continue Elon's run, Lucas put up a good battle at No. 1 against Cheng, but fell 7-6 (4), 6-2 with William & Mary going up 3-2.
 
With two matches left, Tanielian sealed the Tribe win with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win at No. 3 over Zenoni to push William & Mary to the title match.
 
NOTES
-Head coach Elizabeth Anderson sits on 199 career victories through her 14th season at the helm of the Phoenix women's tennis program.
-Elon has dropped CAA Semifinal matches each of its first four years in the CAA.
 
Singles Results
1. Rosie Cheng (WMW) def. Olivia Lucas (ELON) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
2. Natalia Perry (WMW) vs. Erica Braschi (ELON) 6-3, 1-6, 5-3, unfinished
3. Clara Tanielian (WMW) def. Suzanne Zenoni (ELON) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
4. Maria Paraja (ELON) def. Lauren Goodman (WMW) 6-2, 6-3
5. Ekaterina Stepanova (WMW) def. Alex Koniaev (ELON) 6-3, 6-4
6. Olivia Thaler (WMW) def. Kirsten Ward (ELON) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles Results
1. Lauren Goodman/Natalia Perry (WMW) vs. Maria Paraja/Alex Koniaev (ELON) 6-6 (5-3), unfinished
2. Olivia Lucas/Erica Braschi (ELON) def. Rosie Cheng/Olivia Thaler (WMW) 7-6 (7-2)
3. Suzanne Zenoni/Kirsten Ward (ELON) def. Charlotte Madson/Clara Tanielian (WMW) 7-6 (8-6)