ELON, N.C. – Sophomore
Simone Bergeron stood on Court 1, ready to take the next serve. On the court to her right, her team watched anxiously. In the stands to her left, a packed crowd of maroon and gold leaned forward in anticipation.
On the other side of the fence, she heard roars of screams and applause. Bergeron looked up to the scoreboard, and the Phoenix had gained its third point of the match. Leading 5-4 in her third set on Sunday afternoon, she knew she was just one game away from earning the Elon University women's tennis team its first CAA Championship.
"I was really trying not to focus on the overall picture," Bergeron said. "But when we got the three points, I told myself, 'Focus on one point at a time. You've worked for this. Hit your shots. Be confident in them.'"
Just a couple minutes later, Bergeron led her opponent 40-30. With the match point in her grasp, she sent the serve away. The ball was exchanged several times before Bergeron fired a backhand straight toward her opponent. The William & Mary player managed to deflect it back, but the ball was too low to pass over the net, ending the rally and cementing the win for Elon.
Bergeron fell to the ground in celebration, with tears of elation flowing as her teammates mobbed her. The team took a few minutes to embrace on Court 1, taking in the monumental scene. Maroon flags waved triumphantly throughout the crowd. The sound of cheers echoed throughout the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
As gold confetti flew, powerade baths fell and the championship trophy rose toward the sky, and it started to set in: Elon had won the CAA Conference Championship.
"It's like a dream right now," Bergeron said. "I'm so unbelievably happy. The team is unbelievably happy. It's a dream come true for us. We've worked so hard this season and it's so nice to see it all pay off."
Elon came into the weekend as the top seed, earning a bye through the first round. The Phoenix also had the home court advantage, playing both the semifinal and championship matches in front of a packed crowd at the JPTC.
"Playing at the JPTC is such an honor," Bergeron said. "We are so lucky to be able to host here. We had an unbelievable turnout from all our fans and our friends, and it was great to see all the other teams support us and our families. It was a great atmosphere to compete in."
In the team's semifinal match against the No. 4 seed College of Charleston, Elon wasted no time making the match entertaining. After splitting 1-1 in the doubles round, the doubles point came down to Court 2 with junior Helen Sarikulaya and freshman Lisa Kranec.
After a 3-1 start, Charleston stormed back to take a 5-3 lead. With the set on the line, the duo dug in. They managed to hold off the Cougars and force a 6-6 tiebreaker. The Charleston duo was rattled, and the cacophony of noise from the crowd proved to be the difference maker. After almost an hour of play, the ball touched down out of bounds on Elon's side, securing a 7-6 victory and the first point of the match for the Phoenix.
"Me and Helen like to focus on one point at a time," Kranec said. "We know that if we just keep playing our game, things will turn out the right way however we want. We just have to keep playing and fighting."
The singles matches on Saturday proved to be much less dramatic. Junior Madison Cordisco, sophomore Mariana Reding and freshman Heidi Bulger dominated their sets, all earning straight-set wins to sweep Charleston 4-0 and advance to the finals.
"I'm really proud of all the work we've put in," Kranec said. "Me, individually, but the team as well, has put in a lot of work this season. We've seen a lot of improvement between singles and doubles. I feel like everything's coming together. It's really exciting to put it all out there."
After a night of rest, recovery and watching the Elon men's tennis team earn its own semifinal victory, the women's team came out prepared to take on the No. 2 seed William & Mary Tribe. The Phoenix defeated the Tribe 4-3 in its final match of regular season play, but in five of the last seven seasons, Elon's postseason play came to an end at the hands of the Tribe.
Once again, the doubles round split 1-1, putting the pressure on Kranec and Sarikulaya on Court 2. Fortunately, there were no comebacks on the menu for this round. A drop shot gave Elon a 6-3 win and the coveted doubles point once again.
Once Elon moved to the singles round, things started to get spicier. Bulger decided her sets first, giving Elon its second point of the match. However, William & Mary stormed back to tie it up. With only Bergeron, Kranec and Cordisco in play, the Phoenix needed to put its foot on the gas.
Kranec proved to be a game changer. After dropping her first set 3-6, she climbed her way back to win 6-4 in her second. Forcing a third set, she fought through each game, finally coming out on top 6-3 to give Elon its penultimate point.
"We're fully prepared to be out here as long as it takes to earn that result," Kranec said. "Just continue to play and fight the whole time. Just keep doing what we know we can do and what we've worked for this entire season."
From there, Bergeron sealed the deal with the final point. The rest was history.
"This is something I'll remember forever," Bergeron said. "Definitely a core memory for me."
With new hardware in the trophy case and an unbelievable accomplishment under their belts this team will never forget capturing the program's first-ever CAA Championship. While the team deservedly earned a brief celebration on Sunday afternoon, Elon now has its eyes on a bigger fish, the NCAA tournament, which the Phoenix earned an automatic bid to by winning the CAA title. Despite going up against an ITA top-10 opponent, it is clear this team is not deterred and ready to face the big moment.
"I think we're just going to enjoy the moment right now and go into the tournament with nothing to lose," Bergeron said. "We're going to compete as a team like we always do and continue to fight."
The Phoenix will hit the road to Knoxville, Tennessee for a date with the No. 10 Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, May 2 at 4 p.m. EDT.
'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 Chase Strawser at cstrawser@elon.edu.
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