ELON, N.C. – Primed with strong senior leadership and a youthful roster ready to make a splash, the Elon University women's tennis team is nothing short of excited to hit the court for the first time in the spring 2023 championship season.

The Phoenix found an abundance of success in its fall campaign. Freshman Ella Suk won the Powell-B singles draw at the Elon Fall Invitational, the team collectively went 3-0 in doubles on the final day of the Liberty Invitational and senior Lizette Reding became Elon's first ever player to reach the quarterfinals of a main singles draw at ITA Carolina Regionals. 

Sophomore Helen Sarikulaya said she was proud of the team's performance this fall.

"We established a foundation of a team, and I think we all love each other and we supported each other throughout the fall season," Sarikulaya said. "We had good results overall, and we were able to push each other to be the best."

The fall season also brought to the court the team's three new freshmen – Suk, Simone Bergeron and Mariana Reding. Head coach Elizabeth Anderson said she was happy to see them perform so well in their Elon debuts.

"All three of them have a lot of really good energy and they're very team-oriented and work really hard," Anderson said. "It was really good to see that energy on the court."

Sarikulaya echoed Anderson's sentiment and said the freshmen have been great additions to the roster's young core. 

"They are amazing teammates and I'm very glad to have them on the team," Sarikulaya said. "Their play and performance is outstanding, and they make everyone on the team want to push each other and become the best for each other."

On top of the young core of Phoenix, which also includes sophomore Madison Cordisco, the Phoenix has three strong upperclassman leaders to balance out the roster. Junior Miray Konar and senior co-captains Lizette Reding and Sibel Tanik will look to lead the team to a successful season.

"Sibel and Lizette, they come out with a lot of energy every day," Anderson said. "They're outstanding role models, players really look up to them and they're just phenomenal leaders. We're excited to have them for their leadership for this year and they really brought a lot of good energy that I think is going to help us as we get started with the season."
 
Sarikulaya had an impressive freshman campaign herself last year, going 11-7 in singles and 12-5 in doubles. She is looking to add onto her success in her sophomore season. 

"Helen had a great year, and she worked really hard and has improved a lot over the summer, too," Anderson said. "I'm looking forward to even more good things coming up this year."

The Phoenix has a challenging schedule this season, starting Jan 13. at North Carolina, the defending NCAA national champions. Play at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center will begin Jan. 19 against Longwood. Conference play opens up at home against Hampton on Feb. 24. 

"Our schedule is very strong," Anderson said. "It's a good schedule that will hopefully prepare us for the conference tournament."

In order to prepare for such a strong schedule, Sarikulaya said support from her teammates, both on and off the court, is the most important thing.

"I think the mindset for everyone is that we are able to support each other and make sure that we have a lot of communication on things we have to really work on in practice," Sarikulaya said. "Our team being very supportive and all these girls being very helpful with each other, this will help us establish a way that we can succeed and then be naturally successful in the future."

A season ago, the Phoenix fell just short of a CAA championship victory, losing 4-3 to William & Mary in the semifinals. Sarikulaya said this loss only has fueled the team to push themselves that much harder this season to bounce back in the CAA Tournament.

"You learn valuable lessons in those conference tournaments, and I think that with the team that we have right now, we'll be able to push each other throughout the season and then figure out ways to win before going into conference," Sarikulaya said.

With Elon hosting the tournament at the JPTC this year, the Phoenix is looking ahead to climbing the ladder and hoisting the CAA trophy. 

"This is a home advantage for us, we practice on these courts every single day," Sarikulaya said. "We have a lot of home matches to prepare us for hosting the conference tournament and I just can't wait. My teammates are super excited about it as well."

Sarikulaya said she is not only excited to get back onto the court herself, but to be able to cheer on her teammates as well.

"I really want others to succeed," Sarikulaya said. "I would love for myself to succeed as well, but I'm going to put others before myself to make sure that we have an outstanding team. And I definitely think I'll have a better mindset going into this season, and I'm super excited."

THREE THINGS TO KNOW:

RECORD SETTERS
Sibel Tanik and Lizette Reding both enter the season with 39 singles wins in their Elon careers. They each need just 11 wins this season, a number both have reached in all three of their previous seasons with the Phoenix, to move into the top 10 of Elon's career singles wins list. Lizette Reding and Tanik also sit Nos. 12 and 13, respectively, all-time with 36 and 35 career doubles wins, another milestone they both can continue to climb this season.

STAYIN' HOME
Of Elon's 22 regular season matches, 14 will be played at the JPTC. The CAA Tournament will also be hosted at home, marking the sixth time in program history the Phoenix will host the event.

YOUNG CORE
Elon's eight-player roster consists of three upperclassmen and five underclassmen. Of the underclassmen, freshmen Simone Bergeron, Mariana Reding and Ella Suk are new to the team.
 

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'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.

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