ELON – The Elon University football team secured a win on Family Weekend, defeating Hampton 41-20 for a 1-0 record in CAA play.

Up ahead, the Elon cross country team will compete in the Paul Short Run on Friday, the first race since redshirt junior Katie Blount broke the school record in the 5K with a 16:41.4

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
After taking home fourth place at the Red Bandanna Invitational, the Elon University women's golf team returned to the course for the Tot Hill Farm Invitational. Elon currently sits in sixth place as a team after the first day of play. Seniors Ashley Lafontaine and Annie Wu are tied for third place at 1-under-par entering Monday.

Men's Soccer
The Elon University men's soccer team sits atop the CAA south division with eight total points, most recently earning a point in a 0-0 tie against Campbell. Graduate student goalkeeper Jackson Leavitt recorded his sixth clean sheet this season, earning two saves along the way. The Phoenix will face No. 17 UNCG at Rudd Field on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Clemson for a match on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Women's Soccer
Following three straight road matches, the Elon University women's soccer team is set to host its first home CAA match of 2025 on Thursday at 7 p.m. Against William & Mary, senior forward Isa Murdock scored the lone goal while sophomore goalkeeper Katie Bisgrove earned a season-high nine saves.

Women's Tennis
For the second time this fall, the Elon University women's tennis team will be hosting a tournament at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. Elon is set to host the Elon Fall Invitational with matches on Friday and Saturday. At the Jimmy Powell Invitational to open the season, the Phoenix finished with 31 total victories in doubles and singles play. Juniors Simone Bergeron and Mariana Reding earned the overall doubles victory while Bergeron took home a share of the singles title.

Cross Country
In her first cross country race since 2023, redshirt junior Katie Blount secured not only a personal record, but a school record with a 16:41.4 in the 5K. The CAA Runner of the Week led her team to a fifth place finish at the adidas XC Challenge, followed by junior Abby Beville and senior Sarah Petitjean, who both ran personal bests. The men's cross country team took home sixth place, led by senior Caden Strickland, sophomore Jack Kane and freshman Juan Pablo Castillo-Zima, who all finished in the top-50. Both the women's and the men's teams will compete at the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh on Friday.

Football
Playing in front of a packed Family Weekend crowd, the Elon University football team took home a 41-20 win over Hampton for its first CAA victory. Elon scored four rushing touchdowns in the win, two from sophomore running back T.J. Thomas Jr., one from redshirt freshman quarterback Landen Clark and one from junior running back Jimmyll Williams. Williams put up a career-best 172 yards on 13 carries. Elon will face Towson on the road on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Volleyball
The Elon University volleyball team is set to resume CAA play on the road this weekend, facing Hofstra in matches on Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Last week, the Phoenix earned a sweep over NC Central, led by 21 assists from sophomore setter Kayla Palmer and 10 kills by junior outside hitter Cameron Lanier. Against Radford, senior outside hitter Clara Simmons shattered her career-high in kills with 20. 
 

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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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