DURHAM, N.C. – Elon University women's tennis earned a split in a doubleheader at Duke University with a loss to the No. 4-ranked Blue Devils and a victory over Mount Olive on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.
 
Alex Koniaev and Suzanne Zenoni shined for the Phoenix (3-3) during the doubleheader. Koniaev played in a third-set tiebreaker at the No. 6 position against Hannah Zhao of Duke and clinched Elon's victory over Mount Olive. Zenoni nearly forced a tiebreaker with a late comeback in the second set at the No. 1 position against nationally-ranked Maria Mateas of the Blue Devils. She then picked up a victory on the top court against the Trojans.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
In the first match of the doubleheader, Duke (2-0) took the doubles point and the early 1-0 advantage. Kelly Chen and Hannah Zhao clinched the point at the No. 3 position following a victory on court one by Ellyse Hamlin and Kaitlyn McCarthy.
 
Duke opened singles play taking a 2-0 advantage after a win on court three. After Ellyse Hamlin earned a win on court five, No. 58-ranked McCarthy clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Nicole Shiau to give the Blue Devils a 4-0 lead. Uma Nayar battled with the nation's No. 10-ranked player Meible Chi, but lost 6-1, 6-3, which gave Duke a 5-0 advantage.
 
With just two singles matches remaining, Zenoni and Koniaev continued to battle on courts one and six, respectively. Zenoni nearly forced a third-set tiebreaker at No. 1 bringing the set within one, 5-4. However, No. 8-ranked Maria Mateas overcame Zenoni's attempt at a comeback and earned a 6-2, 6-4 victory. Koniaev's match did go to a third-set tiebreaker as Hannah Zhao had to win the second set 6-0 after Koniaev took the first 6-4. In a tight tiebreaker, Zhao had to rally late to earn the 4-6, 6-0, 1-0 (11-9) victory.
 
In the second match of the doubleheader, the Phoenix earned its third win of the season with a 7-0 shutout of Mount Olive. The match counts towards Elon's record, but goes down as an exhibition for the Trojans.
 
The Phoenix only dropped two games combined in doubles action and cruised to a 1-0 lead. Duo of Zenoni and Archer clinched the point with a 6-1 victory on court three. In singles play, not one Elon player lost more than three games in each of their matches and the Phoenix completed the sweep of Mount Olive to earn the doubleheader split. Koniaev clinched the victory for the Phoenix with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Deike Schipper.
 
UP NEXT
Elon returns to the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on Saturday, Feb. 9, to host Radford. The match between the Phoenix and the Highlanders is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.