ELON, N.C. – The last time sophomore Madison Cordisco stepped onto the court to play a singles match for the Elon University women's tennis team was 10 months ago on April 8, 2023, when she was still a freshman. 

For freshman Simone Bergeron, she played the first singles match of her young career on Saturday.

What made the return to singles on Saturday after prolonged injuries even more special for both players? Cordisco and Bergeron played on adjacent courts, side-by-side at the Nos. 5 and 6 spots.

"It was fantastic getting to play right next to her," Bergeron said. "We were talking to each other in between points, like 'Hey, I'm here with you, we've got this,' and it was just unreal playing right next to her."

"It was kind of like 'Hey, we're in this together,'" Cordisco added. "We're both in the same boat, [we've] just got to go out there, get the jitters out and just go play. So it made it super easy to play next to her."

Prior to their singles return, they each earned a doubles win to start the day. After Cordisco won her doubles match with Mariana Reding and Bergeron won her doubles match with Ella Suk, it was time for each of them to make their long anticipated return to the singles slate, something each player was excited about.

"It was just a surreal feeling," Cordisco said. "I was getting so emotional after, it's just a really good feeling."

"It was really nice, especially to have our teammates be so supportive," Bergeron continued. "I was super nervous at the start so I had to figure out where to channel all that energy. Once I channeled my energy, it was a breeze from there."
 
Bergeron and Cordisco both won their season singles debuts, with Cordisco coming away victorious 6-3, 6-1 and Bergeron cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 victory, as Elon swept Shaw 7-0 to complete a perfect 2-0 weekend at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center and extend its winning streak to three in a row. Both players believe Elon has momentum going into its matches next weekend. 

"We're definitely looking forward to next weekend," Bergeron said. "I feel like the momentum is with us now. We've started to figure out all the close matches, and how to stay tough in the close points and really stay solid out there."

"We're just going to keep building on this," Cordisco added. "We're a pretty solid team, so we just continue the energy, the good vibes, and have a solid weekend ahead."
 

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