ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women's tennis team travels north to Chapel Hill for its season opener Saturday against No. 1 North Carolina, the defending NCAA national champions. The match will be played indoors at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center and will start at 11 a.m.
 
COVERAGE

• Saturday's contest begins with doubles at 11 a.m. Singles will begin shortly after the conclusion of doubles. 
• Live video of the match will be provided and can be accessed with a PlaySight account. North Carolina's PlaySight stream is available at this link.
• Live stats will also be available and can be accessed by clicking here. 
• Updates will be provided throughout the match on the team's Twitter (@ElonWTennis) and Instagram (@elonwtennis) accounts. 

 
THE MATCHUP

• Elon and North Carolina have played 18 times, with the Tar Heels winning each meeting. 
• This is the third consecutive season the teams will play each other in their season openers. 
• Last season, No. 2 North Carolina defeated Elon 5-2 indoors at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Julie Ball and Olivia Archer delivered Elon's two points, while Sibel Tanik took the first set from Fiona Crowley, the No. 1 ranked singles player in the country at the time. 

 
ABOUT THE PHOENIX

• Elon is coming off a 16-7 season that included a trip to the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. 
• The Phoenix returns five players from last year's squad, headlined by Sibel Tanik and Lizette Reding, who both earned All-CAA honors in singles and doubles last season. Tanik and Reding formed a dynamic doubles duo, going 12-6 in the No. 1 position, and combined for 24 singles victories in the top three spots. 
• Also returning for the Phoenix are sophomores Helen Sarikulaya and Madison Cordisco. Sarikulaya won 12 doubles and 11 singles matches last season and earned two CAA Doubles Team of the Week honors. Cordisco also reached double-digit wins in doubles, earning 11 victories playing the Nos. 2 and 3 spots. 
• Miray Konar is also back for her second season with the Phoenix. Konar went 8-1 in 2022 playing Nos. 5 and 6 singles and added nine doubles victories. 
• New to the Phoenix this season are freshmen Simone Bergeron, Ella Suk and Mariana Reding, the younger sister of Lizette Reding. 
• Elon is led by head coach Elizabeth Anderson, who is in her 20^th season at the helm of the program. 

 
LAST TIME OUT

• Elon concluded its fall season by hosting the Jimmy Powell Invitational on Oct. 27-28 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. 
• The maroon and gold tallied 12 singles and six doubles victories in the event. 
• Simone Bergeron, Sibel Tanik, Mariana Reding and Helen Sarikulaya all won a pair of singles matches. All seven Elon players that competed in singles picked up at least one victory.
• In doubles, all six of Elon's doubles victories came from a different tandem. 

 
FANTASTIC FRESHMEN

• This is the first time since the 2018-19 season Elon has three freshmen on its roster. 
• In Elon's first tournament of the fall season, Ella Suk won her singles flight by picking up three victories. Suk went 8-3 in singles in the fall and was also part of six doubles wins. 
• Simone Bergeron also had a stellar fall debut with the maroon and gold, racking up 12 wins across singles and doubles. 
• After missing Elon's first fall tournament, Mariana Reding starred for the Phoenix in its next three events, winning eight matches, including five at the Liberty Invitational. 

 
SISTERLY LOVE

• Freshman Mariana Reding joins her older sister Lizette, a senior, on the Phoenix roster this season. 
• Lizette has won double-digit matches in both singles and doubles in each of her first three seasons with the maroon and gold. 
• Lizette enters her final season ranked No. 12 all-time in doubles victories at Elon, while her 39 singles wins have her on the doorstep of cracking Elon's top 15 winners. 
• In all three of her previous seasons with the Phoenix, Reding has been an All-CAA performer in both singles and doubles. She was also selected as the 2020-21 CAA Rookie of the Year and was Elon's MVP for the 2020-21 campaign. 
• This fall, Lizette became Elon's first ever player to reach the quarterfinals of the main singles draw at ITA Carolina Regionals. She also made it to the quarterfinals of the event in doubles with partner Sibel Tanik, as the duo became Elon's first to advance that far in the main draw. 
• Read more about the Redings' journey from Leon, Mexico, to Elon and their relationship by clicking here.

 
TERRIFIC TANIK

• Entering her fifth year of college tennis and fourth at Elon, Sibel Tanik heads into this season with 39 singles victories with the maroon and gold. All the victories have come at either the No. 1 or No. 2 position, including 27 at the top spot. 
• Tanik has also registered 35 doubles wins since joining the Phoenix, the 13th most in Elon's Division I history. In the last two seasons, Tanik has paired with Lizette Reding for 24 victories at the No. 1 position. 
• Last season, Tanik earned two CAA Player of the Week awards and was named to the All-CAA Second Team for doubles and Third Team for singles. 
• In all three of her years at Elon, Tanik has registered double-digit victories in both singles and doubles. She has also been All-CAA in both singles and doubles each of the last two seasons. 

 
SOPHOMORE STARS

• Back for their sophomore seasons with the Phoenix are Madison Cordisco and Helen Sarikulaya, both of whom were key contributors last year. 
• In her debut season with the maroon and gold, Sarikulaya won 12 doubles matches and was part of two CAA Doubles Team of the Week selections. She also won 11 singles contests playing the Nos. 2-4 spots. 
• Sarikulaya went 5-1 last season at No. 3 singles, while her other six wins came at the Nos. 2 and 4 spots. The freshman clinched wins for the Phoenix against Campbell and UNC Greensboro with victories in the No. 3 position.   
• Cordisco was selected to the All-CAA Second Team for doubles after going 11-5 on the season with Julie Ball and Sarikulaya as partners. She added four singles victories at the No. 2 position in 11 appearances.  
• Sarikulaya was one of two Elon players to qualify for the main singles draw at October's ITA Carolina Regionals. She won a pair of matches in the qualifying draw to advance into the main draw. 

 
KONAR RETURNS

• Miray Konar is set for her second year with the Phoenix after transferring to the program from Western Carolina.  
• The junior from Izmir, Turkey, was tabbed as Elon's Most Improved Player for the 2022-23 campaign after playing an important role in Elon's singles and doubles lineups.
• Konar won eight of her nine completed singles contests last season, with the lone loss coming in Elon's final match of the season. 
• In her last six singles victories, Konar won in straight sets. She had a 17-5 record in singles sets last spring.  
• In doubles, Konar posted nine wins and earned CAA Doubles Team of the Week on two occasions, both with partner Helen Sarikulaya.  

 
THE ANDERSON ERA

• Head coach Elizabeth Anderson is entering her 20th season leading the maroon and gold. 
• Anderson has turned Elon into a consistent winner. Under her guidance, the Phoenix has posted 17 consecutive winning seasons, all of which have included double-digit victories. 
• In Elon's final season in the Southern Conference, Anderson led the maroon and gold to the program's first NCAA Tournament berth in 2013. The Phoenix won its first Southern Conference championship that season to qualify. 
• Since joining the CAA in 2014-15 season, Elon has won at least one match in all eight of its CAA Tournament appearances. Anderson led the program to the CAA championship match for the first time in 2022. 
• Since taking over as head coach in 2005, Anderson has tallied 275 victories at Elon. Her winning percentage is 62% in 448 career matches. 
• During Anderson's time at Elon, she has had a total of 51 all-conference selections, four freshmen of the year award winners, one conference player of the year and a conference tournament most outstanding performer.
• Anderson was named CAA Coach of the Year in 2016 after leading Elon to a 14-win season and a berth in the CAA semifinals. 
• Elon has also been a strong performer in the classroom during Anderson's tenure. The program has earned All-ITA Academic Team honors in 18 consecutive seasons. 
• Anderson and the Phoenix welcome first-year assistant coach Sean Foster for the 2023-24 season. 

 
MEET THE CAPTAINS: ELON'S DYNAMIC DUO

• Elon's two seniors – Lizette Reding and Sibel Tanik – were selected as team captains for the 2023-24 season. 
• Reding and Tanik have been Elon's signature doubles tandem the last two seasons, as they have paired up for 24 victories at the No. 1 position. 
• In the each of the last two seasons, Reding and Tanik have earned All-CAA honors in doubles while playing together. Both players have also been All-CAA in singles each of the last two years. 
• To learn more about Elon's captains, click here. 

 
SINGLES DOMINANCE

• Elon went 79-39 in completed singles matches last season, amounting to a winning percentage of 67%. 
• The Phoenix registered double-digit victories and a winning record at all six singles positions last season.
• Five Elon players reached double-digit singles wins a season ago – Olivia Archer (18), Sibel Tanik (12), Julie Ball (12), Lizette Reding (12) and Helen Sarikulaya (11).  
• The Phoenix swept singles in four matches last season and won at least five singles contests on eight occasions. 

 
HOME SWEET HOME

• The Phoenix finished last year's regular season with an 11-2 record in home matches, which included a 7-1 mark at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. 
• Elon also went 2-1 last season at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center and 2-0 at the Simkins Indoor Tennis Center. 
• Elon won 36 of its 46 completed singles matches in its eight contests at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center last season. 
• The Phoenix went 15-3 in completed doubles matches at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center last season. 
• Since its first season in the CAA in 2014, Elon has an 89-24 record and 79% winning percentage in home matches. 

 
ELON TO HOST THE 2024 CAA TOURNAMENT

• For the sixth time, Elon will host the CAA Tournament from April 24-28 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
• With the addition to Campbell to the conference this season, this will be the first CAA Tournament to feature 13 teams. 
• Elon last hosted the tournament in 2022 when it reached the league's championship match for the first time. 
• Five of the last seven completed CAA Tournaments have been hosted by Elon. William & Mary won four of those while James Madison took the other. 

 
SCOUTING NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA

• North Carolina is coming off its first ever NCAA championship last spring, as the Tar Heels defeated Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina State 4-1 in the title match. The win avenged the team's only loss of the season, which came against the Wolfpack in the ACC championship match. 
• In addition to winning last season's NCAA championship, North Carolina has also won the ITA Indoor Team national championship each of the last four years. 
• The Tar Heels went 35-1 last season, which included an undefeated regular season, a 13-0 mark in ACC regular season matches and an 18-0 record in home contests. 
• North Carolina is ranked No. 1 in the preseason ITA team rankings and received all 13 first-place votes. 
• The Tar Heels are led by senior Fiona Crawley, who was the No. 1 ranked player in this year's ITA preseason singles rankings. Crawley won three matches in the qualifying singles draw at last year's U.S. Open to advance to the main singles bracket. Last season, Crawley went 27-2 playing Nos. 1 and 2 singles for the Tar Heels on her way to be named the ITA and ACC Player of the Year. 
• Also returning this season for the Tar Heels is junior Carson Tanguling, who won the 2023 NCAA doubles championship alongside Crawley. Tanguling and Crawley also competed in last year's U.S. Open main draw as a wild card. Tanguling primarily played No. 3 singles as season ago for North Carolina, racking up 19 victories. 
• An up-and-coming star for North Carolina, sophomore Reese Brantmeier won the main singles competition at the 2023 ITA Fall Championship, while also taking home the doubles title at the event with partner Elizabeth Scotty. Brantmeier won 22 matches in her freshman season and went 13-1 at the No. 2 singles spot. 
• Scotty is also back for her senior season after playing a key role in the bottom half of North Carolina's national championship lineup a season ago. Scotty went 19-1 playing Nos. 4 and 5 singles last year and paired with Brantmeier for 14 doubles victories. 
• Also returning for the Tar Heels this season are Abby Forbes, Reilly Tran and Anika Yarlagadda. Tran and Forbes were a dynamic doubles tandem last season as their 15 wins trailed only Crawley and Tanguling. Yarlagadda went 18-1 in singles a season ago, which included a 13-0 mark in ACC matches. 
• The Tar Heels went 147-26 in completed singles contests and 69-20 in doubles last spring. 
• North Carolina has three players ranked inside the top 10 in the most recent ITA singles rankings – Brantmeier (No. 5), Tanguling (No. 7) and Yarlagadda (No. 9). 
• Two Tar Heels doubles team also rank in the top 10 of the current ITA doubles rankings – Brantmeier and Scotty (No. 1) and Forbes and Tran (No. 9). 
• The Tar Heels are led by head coach Brian Kalbas, who is entering his 21^st year leading the program. The winningest coach in ACC history, he has a 532-102 record at North Carolina and has helped the Tar Heels win its NCAA championship along with seven ITA National Team Indoor Championships.

UP NEXT
Elon will host Longwood in its home opener at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on Jan. 19. The match is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start.