ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women's tennis team travels to Chapel Hill to begin its spring season Friday against No. 2 North Carolina. The match at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. 
 
COVERAGE

• Friday's action will begin with doubles at 3:30 p.m. Singles will begin shortly after the conclusion of doubles. 
• Live video of the match will be provided and can be accessed using this link.
• Live stats for the match will be available and can be accessed by clicking here. 

THE MATCHUP

• This will be the 18^th all-time meeting between Elon and North Carolina.
• The Tar Heels lead the series 17-0. 
• In their last meeting, No. 3 North Carolina defeated Elon 7-0 on Jan. 15, 2022. This was also the season opener last season for both teams. 

ABOUT THE PHOENIX

• Elon is coming off a strong spring in which it went 17-9 and finished as the runner-up at the CAA Championship.
• The returnees include graduate Olivia Archer (All-CAA third team in singles); seniors Julie Ball, Shauna Galvin and Sibel Tanik (All-CAA first team in singles and second team in doubles) and junior Lizette Reding (All-CAA second team in singles and doubles). 
• The Phoenix also welcomes three newcomers in sophomore Miray Konar — a transfer from Western Carolina — and freshmen Madison Cordisco and Helen Sarikulaya. Konar, from Izmir, Turkey, went 7-5 in singles and 10-6 in doubles while playing primarily in the No. 2 spot for the Catamounts last season. A Pittsburgh native, Cordisco was considered a five-star recruit by tennisrecruiting.net. Sarikulaya, from Rockville, Md., was also a five-star recruit and reached as high as No. 7 in the USTA Girls' 18 national standings.
• Elon is led by Elizabeth Anderson, who is beginning her 19th season at the helm.

LAST TIME OUT

• Elon wrapped up its fall season by hosting the Jimmy Powell Invitational on Oct. 28-29 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
• Elon posted a perfect 18-0 record in singles for the tournament. Tanik earned singles champions honors, as the senior went 3-0 in the No. 1 singles spot to finish the event with 12 points. 
• Cordisco, Sarikulaya and Reding also finished the tournament with 3-0 singles records. 
• Archer and Ball rounded out Elon's strong singles performance, as each player delivered a 2-0 record for the tournament.
• Sarikulaya and Tanik both posted 6-0 records in singles sets for the tournament, the only two players to win all their sets among those that played three matches. 
• The Phoenix also finished the tournament with an 8-3 mark in doubles. 
• Tanik and Reding earned champion honors in doubles, as the tandem went 2-1 in the event to earn eight points. 
• The teams of Ball and Archer and Cordisco and Sarikulaya both went 2-0 on the tournament's final day. 

SCOUTING NO. 2 NORTH CAROLINA

• This is also the season-opening match for No. 2 North Carolina. This is the second consecutive year the Tar Heels have begun their spring campaign by hosting the Phoenix. 
• The Tar Heels are led by head coach Brian Kalbas, who is entering his 20^th year leading the program and is the winningest coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history. He has a 497-101 record at North Carolina and has helped the Tar Heels win six ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
• North Carolina posted a 28-3 record last season, including a perfect 15-0 mark in home contests. The Tar Heels advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament and made it to the semifinals of the NCAA Tennis Championship, where they fell to eventual national champion Texas. 
• The Tar Heels are ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Division I Women's Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll and received five first-place votes.
• Three Tar Heels players were ranked in the last ITA singles rankings from Nov. 16. Junior Fiona Crawley was the top ranked player in the singles rankings and holds a career record of 77-8, including a 53-2 mark in dual matches. Crawley finished the fall season with a 17-0 singles record, losing only two sets in those matches.
• Graduate student Abbey Forbes enters the spring season as the No. 5 singles player in the country, and sophomore Carson Tanguling will begin the season ranked No. 8 in the ITA singles rankings. Forbes, who transferred to North Carolina from UCLA prior to the fall season, holds a 44-5 career record in dual singles matches, while Tanguling is 20-3 in dual singles contests. 
• Crawley and Tanguling also make up the No. 1 ranked team in the ITA doubles rankings entering the spring season. 

COMING UP

• Elon continues its four-match road trip to open the season with a contest against Campbell on Jan. 20. 
• The Phoenix then travels to Houston for matches against Houston on Jan. 27 and Rice on Jan. 28.
• Elon faces UNCG in its home opener at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on Feb. 3.