ELON, N.C. – Winners of three straight, the Elon University women's tennis team (4-4) concludes a six-match homestand this weekend when it hosts Hampton on Saturday and Appalachian State on Sunday at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

• Saturday's match against the Pirates will start with doubles at 10 a.m. before concluding with singles shortly after.
• Live stats for Saturday can be accessed by clicking here.
• The match Sunday against Appalachian State will begin at 1 p.m. with doubles with singles to begin at the end of doubles. 
• Live stats for Sunday's match are available here.
• Admission to the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center is free.
• Updates throughout both matches will be provided by the program's Twitter and Instagram accounts, @ElonWTennis. 

 
THE MATCHUPS

• Elon and Hampton squared off for the first time ever last year, with the Phoenix prevailing 5-2 on March 4. 
• The Phoenix is 10-4 all-time against Appalachian State and has won each of the last three meetings. 
• Sunday's contest will be the first matchup between the teams since April 12, 2017, which the Phoenix won 7-0 at home. 
• Elon and Appalachian State played every year from 2002-14 but have met just once since.
• In eight home matches against the Mountaineers, Elon holds a 6-2 mark. 

 
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 swept Shaw at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on Feb. 17 for its third consecutive victory. 
• The Phoenix won all three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead. 
• Sibel Tanik and Lizette Reding won their 27th doubles match as a pair at the No. 1 spot. Elon's top duo won 6-1 for the second straight match. 
• Freshmen Simone Bergeron and Ella Suk remained unbeaten together in doubles, as they earned the point for the Phoenix with a 6-2 win on Court 3. The tandem is 4-0 on the season at the No. 3 spot, with three of the wins serving as the victory that clinched the doubles point for the maroon and gold. 
• Madison Cordisco and Mariana Reding extended their winning streak together in doubles to four with a 6-3 victory at the No. 2 spot. Their five wins are the most on the team. 
• Playing No. 1 singles for the first time this season and fourth time in career, Lizette Reding dropped just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 against Shaw's Jessa Michielli. 
• Making her dual singles debut on Court 6, Bergeron pitched a shutout against Veronika Philippova, winning 6-0, 6-0. The freshman has not lost in doubles or singles since making her college debut against South Carolina State on Feb. 9.  
• Playing singles for the first time since April 8, 2023, Cordisco made her return after 10 months away worth the wait, as she defeated Serena Teluwo 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 5 spot. It was her first singles triumph since March 26, 2023, and her first at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center since March 11, 2023. Read more about Cordisco's return from injury here.
• Bergeron and Cordisco played next to each other on Courts 5 and 6. Read more about their winning returns to singles by clicking here.
• Mariana Reding not only played No. 2 singles for the first time in her young career Saturday, she had the opportunity to play next to older sister Lizette, who was on Court 1, for the first time in a college match. Mariana split her first two sets before coming through in a match tiebreak for a 6-0, 5-7, 10-8 win against Prerana Koirola. With both Redings winning, the sisters are the first Elon players to reach five singles victories this season. 
• Back at the No. 4 spot after playing the No. 6 position in Elon's last two matches, Helen Sarikulaya won her third straight match with a 6-2, 7-5 result over Marija Ristanovic. 
• After making her debut at No. 3 singles Friday against Gardner-Webb, Suk played the spot again Saturday and came away with a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Anja Antonijevic. Suk is the only Elon player to win at three different singles positions this season. 
• Elon's freshmen contributed to five victories across doubles and singles. This marks the first time this season all three freshman have won both doubles and singles in the same match. 

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK

• On Tuesday, Madison Cordisco and Mariana Reding were tabbed as the CAA Doubles Team of the Week, the first weekly honor from the conference for both players. 
• Cordisco and Reding have paired up for a team-best five wins this season and are currently on a four-match winning streak. 
• All of Cordisco and Reding's doubles appearances this season have come at the No. 2 spot. 
• The duo is the second Elon team to win the weekly honor this season, as Lizette Reding and Sibel Tanik earned it on Jan. 23. 

FANTASTIC FRESHMEN

• This is the first time since the 2018-19 season Elon has three freshmen on its roster. 
• Following an impressive fall that saw her win a singles flight at the Elon Fall Invitational, Ella Suk is off to a strong start this spring. Suk is Elon's only player to win at three different singles positions this season and is tied for the team lead with four doubles wins.  
• Simone Bergeron made her spring debut against South Carolina State and Norfolk State on Feb. 9 and 10 after missing Elon's first four matches. In four doubles appearances with Suk, Bergeron is 4-0. She also made her dual singles debut against Shaw on Feb. 17, pitching a 6-0, 6-0 shutout. 
• Mariana Reding is tied for the team lead in singles and doubles victories with five of each. The younger Reding sister has appeared in singles in every match and has earned five wins playing No. 2 doubles with Madison Cordisco. 

 
BIG SISTER 

• 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. 
• With a victory at No. 1 singles against Shaw on Feb. 17, Reding moved into 13th place on Elon's all-time Division I singles wins list, as the senior is up to 44 with the maroon and gold.
• Lizette also moved into 11^th all-time on Elon's Division I doubles wins list with a victory at the No. 1 spot against Shaw, the 39th win of her career. 
• In all three of her three 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. 
• Lizette was tabbed as the CAA Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Jan. 23 after dropping just one game in a win at No. 2 singles against Longwood on Jan. 19. Lizette also won CAA Doubles Team of the Week that week with partner Sibel Tanik. 
• Read more about the Redings' journey from Leon, Mexico, to Elon and their relationship by clicking here. 

 
TERRIFIC TANIK

• In her fifth year of college tennis and fourth at Elon, Sibel Tanik is up to 46 career singles victories, 42 of which have come with the maroon and gold.  
• Tanik had her best singles performance of the season in her last appearance against Gardner-Webb on Feb. 16, winning 6-4, 6-3 against Emilia Roslund. 
• Tanik has been clutch in match tiebreaks this season, tallying two wins in decisive breakers. 
• All of Tanik's victories at Elon have come at either the No. 1 or No. 2 position, including 30 at the top spot. 
• Tanik has also registered 38 doubles wins since joining the Phoenix, tied for the 12th most in Elon's Division I history. In the last two seasons, Tanik has paired with Lizette Reding for 27 victories at the No. 1 position. 
• Alongside Reding, Tanik earned CAA Doubles Team of the Week honors on Jan. 23 after the pair won at the No. 1 spot on Jan. 19 against Longwood. 
• 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. 

 
STANDOUT SOPHOMORES

• Back for their sophomore seasons with the Phoenix are Madison Cordisco and Helen Sarikulaya, both of whom were key contributors last year. 
• Sarikulaya is up to four singles victories on the season, with two wins coming at the No. 4 spot and the other two at the No. 6 position.
• In her current three-match singles winning streak, Sarikulaya has gone 6-0 in sets, with five of those coming by 6-0, 6-1 or 6-2 scores.  
• 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 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. 
• Through Elon's first eight matches this season, Cordisco is tied for the team lead in doubles victories with five, all of which have come at the No. 2 position alongside partner Mariana Reding. 
• In Elon's most recent match against Shaw on Feb. 17, Cordisco made her first singles appearance in nearly 10 months, winning in straight sets at the No. 5 spot. She also earned her first ever CAA weekly honor alongside doubles partner Mariana Reding, as the pairing has teamed up for four wins in a row.  
• 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.  

 
KONAR RETURNS

• Miray Konar is in her second year with the Phoenix after transferring to the program from Western Carolina.  
• Konar has won back-to-back singles matches, including an impressive straight-sets win over Gardner-Webb playing the No. 4 position. 
• All of Konar's singles appearances this season have come at the Nos. 3 and 4 spots after never playing higher than No. 5 singles in 2023.  
• 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 doubles, Konar posted nine wins and earned CAA Doubles Team of the Week on two occasions, both with partner Helen Sarikulaya.

 
PUTTING THE DUB IN DOUBLES

• Elon has successfully converted the doubles point in four straight matches.
• In that stretch, the Phoenix has won all 10 doubles matches that have been completed and led by a break in the two contests that went unfinished.
• The Phoenix has not lost a doubles match in the month of February, with its last defeat coming against North Florida on Jan. 28. 
• Over the last four matches, two Elon teams have gone 4-0 in doubles. Madison Cordisco and Mariana Reding are perfect during the winning streak playing the No. 2 spot while freshmen Simone Bergeron and Ella Suk are also unblemished playing No. 3 doubles. 
• In the last four matches, Elon's pairings have combined to go 66-23 in total games.  

 
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 279 victories at Elon. 
• 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. 

 
HOME SWEET HOME

• Elon is off to a 4-1 start at home in 2024, with three wins at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center and one at Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro. 
• In its current three-match home winning streak, the Phoenix has won 17 of 18 singles matches and 34 of 39 singles sets. 
• Of the last possible 21 points available over the last three matches, Elon has successfully won 20.
• Since its first season in the CAA in 2014, Elon has a 93-25 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 HAMPTON

• The Pirates are 3-1 entering a Friday matchup against North Carolina Central in Cary.  
• After losing their season opener to Loyola (MD), Hampton has picked up three straight wins.
• Heading into Friday's match, Mio Kozaki holds a 4-0 record for the Pirates playing the No. 1 singles position. 
  Lucia Jorrin Fernandez and Meiri Okuwaki are both 3-1 in singles prior to Friday's contest against North Carolina Central. 
• The Pirates are 16-6 in singles matches this season heading into Friday. 
• In doubles, Jorrin Fernandez and Diana Starodubtseva are 2-0 at the No. 3 spot entering Friday. Kozaki and Sofia Sokolova also have a pair of wins at the No. 1 position. 
• The Pirates are led by head coach Ana Popovic, who is in her third season at the helm of the program.  

 
SCOUTING APPALACHIAN STATE

• The Mountaineers are 3-3 entering Sunday's contest.
• In their most recent match against East Tennessee State on Feb. 20, Appalachian State fell 6-1. 
• In four road matches this season, the Mountaineers boast a 1-3 record. The lone win came at Gardner-Webb on Feb. 18 by a 4-3 score.
• Maggie Pate leads the Mountaineers this season with five singles victories. 
• Naledi Manyube and Savannah Dada-Mascoll both have three singles wins for App State this season. 
• Taya Powell and Pate have three doubles wins on the season to lead the Mountaineers. 
• Appalachian State is led by first-year head coach Hannah Fetters. 

 
UP NEXT
Elon returns to the road for the first time in over a month on March 2 with a match at Davidson. The contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.