ELON – Last week, the Elon University women's soccer team set a program record by recording a seventh straight shutout in a victory against South Carolina State. Men's soccer also captured a victory over USC Upstate, keeping Elon as one of two Division I schools with unbeaten records for both men's and women's soccer programs.
The reigning CAA champion women's tennis team will make its return to the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center for the first time since capturing the crown in April. The women's golf team is also making its fall debut in its only home event, the Elon Invitational, held on Monday and Tuesday in Burlington.
Each Monday, Rising Phoenix will preview the week ahead in Elon athletics. Here is a look at each Elon team competing this week.
Women's Golf
Just down the road at the Alamance Country Club in Burlington, the Elon University women's golf team will host the Elon Invitational for its first event of the fall on Monday and Tuesday. The Phoenix is led by seniors Ashley Lafontaine and Annie Wu, who will compete alongside freshman Lilli Downer, sophomore Emma Hansen and sophomore Kelly Zhao. After finishing runner-up at the Elon Invitational the last two years, Elon looks to take back the top spot, which was last done in 2022.
Men's Golf
After day one of the JT Poston Invitational, freshman Drew Yeagley leads the Phoenix in a tie for seventh place individually. Elon is tied for ninth as a team, shooting 6-over-par collectively, with two rounds of play still to go on Monday and Tuesday. In the team's debut in Myrtle Beach last week, junior Jack Wieler finished in a tie for third, followed by Yeagley and fellow freshman William Carr, who both tied for 16th.
Men's Soccer
A 1-0 win over USC Upstate last Saturday featured redshirt sophomore midfielder Dominik Renz's third game scoring a game-winning goal. The two-time CAA Rookie of the Week has scored three goals with an assist this season for a team-leading seven total points. In goal, the two-time CAA Defensive Player of the Week Jackson Leavitt added another clean sheet, his third straight and fourth of the season. Elon will host Davidson on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before resuming CAA play in Williamsburg against William & Mary on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Women's Soccer
With a 6-0 win over SC State last Wednesday, the Elon University women's soccer team ended non-conference play on a high note by setting a program record of seven straight shutouts. Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Bisgrove was in net for six of the seven shutouts, picking up two CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors over that span. The Phoenix will be on the road this week, facing Hofstra on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Stony Brook on Sunday at noon.
Men's Tennis
The Elon University men's tennis team found success at the Elon Invitational over the weekend, highlighted by 10 singles victories on the second day of competition. In total, senior Oskar Antinheimo, junior Jack Curtis and freshman Sibby Rodi each took home three singles victories. Elon will travel to Wilmington for the Porter's Neck Invitational hosted by UNCW from Friday to Sunday.
Women's Tennis
The last time the Elon University women's tennis team competed at the JPTC was in April, as Simone Bergeron won her No. 1 singles match to take the CAA Championship 4-2 over William & Mary. Now, the Phoenix will open up its fall season at the JPTC for the Jimmy Powell Invitational on Friday and Saturday. In the offseason, Elon added sophomore Cornelia Kack, freshman Nathalie Marinovich and junior Alexis Nyborg to the roster.
Cross Country
To start the fall season, the women's cross country team took home first place at the Elon Opener, led by a personal-best 13:36.6 in the 4K by Abby Beville, who earned first individually. The Elon women's team accounted for seven of the top 15 finishers for a total of 27 points. On the men's side, the Phoenix placed sixth overall led by Caden Strickland, who ran the 6K in 18:47.2 for 13th place. Elon is competing in Cary at the adidas XC Challenge on Friday at 5:15 and 5:55 p.m.
Volleyball
The Elon University volleyball team is set to begin CAA play at home this weekend, facing Hampton in Schar Center on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. At the Clemson/Wofford Tournament, junior outside hitter Cameron Lanier paced the team in kills with 26, while junior libero Shannon O'Laughlin paced the team in digs with 32.
Football
Redshirt freshman quarterback Landen Clark delivered his second straight four touchdown game as he and the Phoenix earned a 37-31 win at Western Carolina last Saturday. The CAA Rookie of the Week also earned career-highs with 305 passing yards, 72 rushing yards and 377 total yards. Sophomore kicker Luke Barnes also scored a career-high 11 points. Elon will travel to Johnson City, Tennessee, to face ETSU on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
'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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