ELON – The Elon University men's soccer team celebrated Senior Night successfully with a 1-0 victory over UNCW last Saturday. The team is currently tied for first place in the CAA South division with a 3-0-2 record.

Up ahead, cross country will return to the course for the first time since the Paul Short Run, in which the women's team took home 10th place led by Katie Blount's second place and record-breaking 19:37.1 6K.

Each Monday, Rising Phoenix will preview the week ahead in Elon athletics. Here is a look at each Elon team competing this week.

Men's Golf
Led by Jack Wieler and William Carr, the CAA Co-Men's Golfers of the Week, the Elon University men's golf team took home second place last week at the West Bay Collegiate Invitational. The duo tied for ninth place individually with a 10-under par 206. The team will compete for the last time this fall in the Elon Phoenix Invitational at Alamance Country Club with rounds on Monday and Tuesday.

Women's Golf
The Elon University women's golf team is back on the course for the first time this month, competing in the Terrier Intercollegiate hosted by Wofford on Monday and Tuesday. At the Tot Hill Farm Invitational, senior Ashley Lafontaine tied for sixth place and senior Annie Wu tied for eighth place, with the team finishing in eighth place collectively.

Men's Tennis
After a successful outing at the Liberty Dual Tournament, the Elon University men's tennis team is looking toward ITA Regionals, hosted in Cary from Thursday to Monday. Senior Veljko Krstic went 5-1 across his singles and doubles matches at Liberty, with the team claiming 17 wins over three days of play.

Women's Tennis
The Elon University women's tennis team will compete outside of the JPTC this week for the first time this fall, traveling to Chapel Hill for ITA Regionals from Thursday to Monday. The last time the Phoenix competed, the team won 27 total matches at the Elon Fall Invitational. The team had its share of success at last year's ITA Regionals, as Helen Sarikulaya and Elon alum Miray Konar became the first doubles pair in program history to advance to the semifinals. 

Women's Soccer
Although Elon's match against Hampton was postponed due to inclement weather, the team will set its sights on two CAA home matches this week. Up first, the Phoenix will face the Drexel Dragons on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by Towson on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Cross Country
Katie Blount continues to shatter records for the Elon University cross country team, racing a program best 19:37.1 in the 6K. Her time led the women's team to a 10th place finish at the Paul Short Run and earned her CAA Runner of the Week honors. The Phoenix will compete for the last time before the conference meet at the Panorama Farms Invitational in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Volleyball
The Elon University volleyball team continues CAA play this weekend with matches at Towson on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. Against Northeastern last Saturday, both senior outside hitter Clara Simmons and graduate student outside hitter Simrin Carlsen put up double doubles, while sophomore defensive specialist Casey Brower led the team with 19 digs.

Men's Soccer
In a thriller on Senior Night, the Elon University men's soccer team prevailed 1-0 over UNCW. Held scoreless all night, the Phoenix finally broke through in the 86th minute off of a header by junior defender Charlie Kitch. Elon will face Charleston on the road on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Football
The Elon University football team will be back on the road this week, traveling to Williamsburg, Virginia, to face William & Mary on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Despite the loss against Villanova, sophomore TJ Thomas Jr. scored two rushing touchdowns and junior defensive back DJ James-Hamilton tied his career-high with a team-leading 13 tackles.
 

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'Rising Phoenix' is a 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 X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Sydney Spencer at sspencer9@elon.edu.

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