ELON, N.C. – Elon University women's tennis continues its spring season this weekend when it hosts NC Central and Morgan State at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
 
The Phoenix will open the weekend with a 2 p.m. matchup with NC Central on Friday, March 11, before returning to action on Sunday, March 13, for a bout against Morgan State at 2 p.m.
 
GAMEDAY COVERAGE
- Friday's action will begin with doubles play at 2 p.m. with singles to follow shortly after.
- Sunday's action will also get underway with doubles play, with competition starting at 2 p.m.
- Live stats for both matches are available.
 
THE MATCHUP
- Friday afternoon marks the 14^th meeting between the Phoenix and NC Central.
- The Phoenix currently leads in the all-time series 13-0.
- In the most recent meeting between the two programs, Elon defeated NC Central, 6-1, on Feb. 27, 2021.
- Sunday afternoon marks the second meeting between the Phoenix and Morgan State.
- In the most recent matchup between the two programs, Elon swept Morgan State, 7-0, on March 20, 2019.

SCOUTING ELON
- The Phoenix enters the contest with a 7-5 record after after falling to No. 2 NC State, 7-0, in its most recent outing.
- Olivia Archer is leading the wat for Elon, as the junior has racked up a team-high seven wins early this season. Archer has also won six five of her last six matches.
- Julie Ball ranks second on the team in singles play, as she holds a 6-4 overall record and a 5-4 mark in the No. 4 slot this season.
- Alison O'Dea ranks third on the team in singles victories, as the sophomore holds five wins this season.
- Sibel Tanik, Lizette Reding and Victoria Saldh are tied for fourth on the squad with four singles wins each.
- Shauna Galvin and Sarah Allen are the only Phoenix that are still undefeated in singles play, as Galvin holds a perfect 3-0  record early this season, while Allen moved to 1-0 and picked up her first career win against Pfeiffer.
- The tandem of Olivia Archer and Alison O'Dea is leading the way for the Phoenix in doubles play, as the duo holds a team-best 7-4 mark and has won seven of its last eight matches.
- The combinations of Julie Ball and Victoria Saldh and Sibel Tanik and Lizette Reding are tied for second on the team in doubles wins, as each duo has won five matches this season.
- Olivia Archer and Alison O'Dea were named the CAA Doubles Team of the Week on March 2, after winning all three of their matches last week against North Carolina A&T, Methodist and Pfeiffer respectively.
- On Wednesday, Feb. 2, the CAA announced that junior Sibel Tanik was named its Player of the Week. It was the first honor of the season for the Phoenix and was the first Player of the Week award of Tanik's career.
- Four All-CAA selections return for the Phoenix in 2021-22 in Sibel Tanik (1^st Team), Lizette Reding (Rookie of the Year; 2^nd Team Singles; 3^rd Team Doubles), Victoria Saldh (3rd Team Singles), and Alison O'Dea (3^rd Team Doubles).
- Other returners for the Phoenix include Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sport Excellence Award recipient, Olivia Archer, and junior Shauna Galvin.
- The Phoenix is led by Elizabeth Anderson, who will begin her 18^th season at the helm of the program in 2021-22.
 
SCOUTING NC CENTRAL
- NC Central enters the contest with a 1-6 overall record after falling to Western Carolina, 4-0, in its most recent outing.
- NCCU is led by Tom Schrecengost who is in his seventh season at the helm of the Eagles program.
- The Eagles are led by Kennedy Hill who holds a 3-3 record in singles play so far this season.
- Hill and Maria Picazo are leading the way for NCCU in doubles play, as the duo sits at 1-2 early on this season.
 
SCOUTING MORGAN STATE
- Morgan State enters the contest with a 1-5 overall record after defeating Harford Community College, 7-0, in its most recent outing.
- The Bears are led by Matthew Townes, who is in his fifth season at the helm of the program. Townes has led Morgan State to two MEAC titles in his five seasons.
 
LAST TIME OUT
- Elon battled but came up short, 7-0, against No. 2 NC State on Sunday, March 6, at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center in Raleigh, N.C.
- After falling in the first set 6-2, Sibel Tanik pushed No. 9 nationally ranked Jaeda Daniel to the brink, forcing a third set tiebreaker after winning the second set 7-6. In the decisive third set, Tanik dropped a close 7-5 decision in the No. 1 singles slot.
- Julie Ball dropped a close three-set battle to Sophie Abrams in No. 4 singles on Sunday. Abrams jumped out to an early one set lead after earning a 7-5 decision to open play, but Ball continued to fight back, taking the second set 7-6. Ball's comeback attempt fell just short as she fell 7-3 in the tiebreaker.
- Olivia Archer fell in a three-set battle to Sara Nayar in the No. 6 position. With Nayar up by a set after taking a 6-2 victory to open the match, Archer battled back with a 6-2 win of her own in the second set. In the third and final set, Archer battled but came up just short falling 6-1 to round out her day.
- Alison O'Dea fell to Amelia Rajecki 6-1 in the opening set before nearly taking the second set, but Rejecki was able to outlast her for a 7-5 victory in the No 5 position.
- The combination of Tanik and Lizette Reding dropped a close match on Court 1 in doubles play, being defeated 6-3 by the No. 16 nationally ranked duo of Daniel and Nell Miller.
- The tandem of Archer and Alison O'Dea nearly defeated Nayar and Priska Nugroho in the No. 3 position but was outlasted 6-4.
 
THE FACES OF 2021-22
- The Phoenix welcomes back six returners from last year's squad in seniors Olivia Archer and Victoria Saldh, juniors Shauna Galvin and Sibel Tanik, and sophomores Lizette Reding and Alison O'Dea.
- Elon will feature two newcomers this season in first-year Sarah Allen and Tennessee transfer Julie Ball.
- Allen joins the Phoenix from Christ Church Episcopal School, where she was a five-time team State Champion from 2016-2020 and earned four top-5 finishes at the All-State Singles Championships in 2017 (5th), 2018 (4th), 2019 (4th) and 2020 (2nd).
- Ball comes to Elon from the University of Tennessee where she earned Spring SEC Academic Honor Roll honors in 2020.
 
COMING SOON
- Elon hits the road again on March 15-16, as it travels to Charleston, S.C. to take on College of Charleston (March 15) and Charleston Southern (March 16).
- The Phoenix rounds out March on Saturday, March 26, when it hosts UNCW at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
- Elon will then open April with matchups against JMU (April 9) and UNC Greensboro (April 13) respectively.