ELON, N.C. – Elon University women's tennis gets set to host its fourth consecutive CAA Tennis Championships and will start its run at the title on Thursday morning, April 18, at 9 a.m. at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center against the fifth-seeded Drexel Dragons. The match will then be followed by the remaining quarterfinal matches on Thursday afternoon, which are slated to start at 2 p.m.

THE FIELD
Elon earned the No. 4 seed for the second-straight season and for the second time during its five years as a member of the CAA. William & Mary took the No. 1 seed, while James Madison is the No. 2 seed, followed by third-seeded College of Charleston and fifth-seeded Drexel. Delaware stands No. 6, Towson is at No. 7, while No. 8 UNCW and No. 9 Hofstra round out the draw. During the regular season, the Phoenix finished 1-3 against CAA opponents its lone win coming against UNCW. Elon fell against the top-3 seeds William & Mary, College of Charleston and James Madison.

PARKING INFORMATION
Primary parking for spectators at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center is located in the McMichael parking lot across Haggard Avenue from the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. 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. Limited Street parking on E. College Avenue is also available. Please note that parking is not allowed on Antioch Avenue. Spectator parking for the Burlington Tennis Center is located in the main lot, at the entrance.

ELON IN THE TOURNAMENT
Making its fifth appearance in the CAA Championships, the Phoenix is 4-4 with four consecutive of semifinal appearances. This is the second consecutive 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 Drexel three times in the CAA tournament.
 
THE SERIES
Thursday's match will be just the third meeting between Elon and Drexel, as well as the third time in the CAA Championship quarterfinals. The Phoenix has a 2-0 lead in the series as No. 4-seeded Elon defeated No. 5-seeded Drexel, 4-0, on April 20, 2018, at the Burlington Tennis Center. Elon as a No. 2 seed in the 2016 CAA Championships, defeated Drexel 4-1 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex on April 20, 2016.

ABOUT ELON
The Phoenix (12-11) finished off the regular season on Sunday, April 14, with a 4-3 victory over George Washington at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. Olivia Archer leads the team in singles with 15 victories and a 15-4 overall record, while duo of Uma Nayar/Nicole Shiau have a team-best 11-4 record in doubles action. Nayar individually has a team-best 12 wins in doubles. Maria Paraja has been hot in singles action as she has won seven of her last 10 matches and has a 13-7 record this season.

CAA HONORS FOR NAYAR AND SHIAU
Elon's No. 2 doubles duo of Uma Nayar and Nicole Shiau earned CAA Doubles Team of the Week honors on Tuesday, April 16, following their doubles-point clinching win against George Washington. The duo now is 11-4 overall and has won three straight doubles matches to this point.

MOVING UP IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Seniors Suzanne Zenoni and Maria Paraja continue to move up in the dual match record books. Zenoni ranks 8th all-time in singles victories with 50 thus far, which is tied with Olivia Lucas '18 in 7th place. Zenoni also ranks 8th in doubles with 43 career victories. Maria Paraja has a total of 49 singles wins in her career, which ranks 8th all-time.

WHAT ELON BRINGS TO 2019
The Phoenix returns six players from a 2017-18 team that posted a 14-13 dual match record and finished its season falling to eventual 2018 CAA Champion William & Mary 4-2 in the semifinals of the conference tournament at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. Highlighting the returners are All-CAA doubles honorees Maria Paraja and Alex Koniaev, as well as Suzanne Zenoni, who finished with a team-best 16-8 singles record. Zenoni, Paraja, and Moore are the three seniors on the squad in 2018-19. Juniors Koniaev and Edo round out Elon's group of five upperclassman, while Mia Wallace is the maroon and gold's lone sophomore this season. Additionally, the Phoenix infused three newcomers for 2018-19 in Olivia Archer, Uma Nayar and Nicole Shiau.

200 CAREER WINS
Elizabeth Anderson, who is in her 15th season as head coach of the Phoenix, earned her 200th-career win in Elon's 7-0 victory over North Carolina A&T on Wednesday, Jan. 16. Since joining the CAA in 2015, the Phoenix has posted a 61-38 dual match record under the direction of Anderson. Anderson collected her first-ever conference coach of the year award in 2016 as she was named the CAA Coach of the Year during Elon's second season in the league. That season, she led the Phoenix to a 5-1 record against CAA teams. She has led Elon to 14 or more wins in the last seven seasons and guided the program to its first NCAA Tournament in 2014.

STRENGTH IN RETURNERS
Elon's returners posted 60 total wins in singles and 41 doubles victories during the 2018 season. In addition to Zenoni's 16 wins in singles, Paraja had the third-most wins with 13 in 2018. Koniaev also finished with double-digit singles wins posting 11 last season. Zenoni is Elon's top returner in doubles wins as she had 11 last season. As a group, Elon brings back 41 total wins in doubles from a year ago.

FRESH FACES
Elon University head women's tennis coach Elizabeth Anderson announced the additions of Olivia Archer (Cornelius, N.C.), Uma Nayar (Ipoh, Malaysia), and Nicole Shiau (Taichung, Taiwan) for the 2018-19 season.

UP NEXT
If Elon defeats Drexel in Thursday's quarterfinals, the Phoenix will face off against the winner of the No. 1 William & Mary versus No. 8 UNCW match in the semifinals on Friday. The semifinal match is scheduled to be played at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 19, at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. Another victory would put the Phoenix in the finals on Saturday, April 20, at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.