ELON, N.C. – When Lizette Reding converted her match point Saturday on Court 1 against UNCW to clinch an Elon victory, the senior dropped her racket and turned to her three teammates that had been supporting her from a court over. 

She raised her arms as Sibel Tanik, Miray Konar and younger sister Mariana sprinted to give her a celebratory hug. Tanik was the first to make it and gave her doubles partner and fellow senior a squeeze. For Lizette, moments like this are what she is cherishing as her final season is winding to a close. 

"I have been so happy playing tennis these days," Lizette  said. "I know this is my last year, so I've just been happy to play and have the opportunity to clinch the match and be a great teammate for everyone."

Lizette's singles victory was more than just a happy ending, it was symbolic of the resiliency Elon displayed as a team in its 5-2 victory over the Seahawks. Elon was forced to fight back as a team in singles after dropping the doubles point for just the second time in its last 15 matches. The Phoenix responded by winning five of six singles matches to complete an important victory over a conference opponent. 

After winning the first set of her singles match, Lizette fell behind 3-0 in the second but fought back by winning seven of the next nine games to deliver a 7-5, 7-5 win. 

"It was tough being 3-0 down," Lizette said. "I started to make balls again, focus again and do the basics. That helped me be tighter in the set and it worked out." 

Even when Lizette fell behind early in the second set, her teammates never lost belief that she would turn it around. 
 
"We all have so much faith in Liz," Simone Bergeron said. "I looked up at the scoreboard on the other side and she was down 3-0. I looked at Helen [Sarikulaya] and I was like, 'She's got it, she's got it.' And next thing I know, it's 4-3, then she's up and then she won the set. We have so much faith in her. She's such a strong fighter."

Bergeron was another one of Elon's singles winners Saturday, as the freshman cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 result on Court 6 for the ninth victory of her maiden campaign. Bergeron said dropping the doubles point did not faze the Phoenix. 

"We all kept our heads up and we fought hard," Bergeron said. "We all got good leads in the beginning [of singles]. It was a big win for us." 

Bergeron has led the charge in singles for the Phoenix since making her debut on Feb. 17, as no Elon player has more wins than her since then. Her win Saturday was the eighth to come in straight sets this season. 

"I love playing here at the JPTC. I love playing for Elon," Bergeron said. "I just try to start off each match as strong as I possibly can, to get the lead early so I don't find myself digging myself out of a hole. I try to keep momentum and stay tough at the hard points, especially at the deuce points." 

While Elon has excelled in doubles all season, the team has also been exceptional in singles. Saturday's victory was the eighth time this season the Phoenix has won five or more singles points. 

"The girls all came out there and just did their best in singles," Lizette said. "It's always awesome to win at home, especially against conference teams that you know there won't be any free points or free sets, you just have to go and fight for it." 

"Everyone fought so hard," Bergeron added. "I played next to Helen [Sarikulaya] and Ella [Suk] today. We were all just firing each other up the whole time. We went over and were high fiving each other, just keeping ourselves going. We really fought as a team today." 
 

---

'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.

---