ELON – The Elon women's tennis team (3-1) rides a three-match winning streak into Chapel Hill for a Tuesday match against No. 3 North Carolina (9-1). The contest at the Chewning Tennis Center will begin at 4 p.m.
Elon vs. No. 3 North Carolina Briefing
Match Details: Feb. 17, 2026 | Chapel Hill, N.C. | Chewning Tennis Center | 4 p.m.
Admission: Free
The Matchup
- North Carolina has won all 19 matches in the series against the Phoenix.
- Elon posted its best result against the Tar Heels in 2023, taking two points off No. 1 North Carolina indoors at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Julie Ball and Olivia Archer won singles contests for the Phoenix, with Sibel Tanik also winning the first set over eventual ITA National Player of the Year Fiona Crawley at the top singles spot.
Last Time Out
- The Phoenix defeated George Washington, 6-1, on Sunday indoors at the Wake Forest Tennis Center.
- Elon overcame early break deficits at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles to secure the opening point.
- On Court 3, Lisa Kranec and Cornelia Kack were broken in the opening game but won five of the next six to take a commanding 5-2 advantage. The duo then broke serve in the final game to secure a 6-3 win.
- With George Washington winning on Court 2, the doubles point came down to Simone Bergeron and Mariana Reding at the top spot. They went down a break early but battled their way back to level the score at 4-4. Trailing 0-30 on their own serve, Elon dug out of the hole for a hold and a 5-4 lead. The juniors then broke in the ensuing game to win 6-4 and put the Phoenix ahead, 1-0.
- Kack continued her torrid early season form in singles, dropping just five games in a 6-2, 6-3 win over George Washington's Madison Lee at the No. 2 spot.
- Kranec notched her third singles victory of the season with a 6-2, 6-0 result on Court 4 versus Alexandra Lindqvist. It was the sophomore's 20th career dual singles win.
- Shortly after Kranec finished her match, Reding made it 4-0 for the Phoenix with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Victoria Sasinka at the No. 3 spot.
- Madison Cordisco extended Elon's lead to 5-0 with a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Devika Manu on Court 6. It was the senior's second singles victory of the season with both coming via identical 6-2, 6-0 scorelines.
- On Court 5, Alexis Nyborg won a tightly contested affair against Karen Verduzco, 7-5, 7-5. Nyborg trailed 0-3 in the opening frame before completing a comeback and trailed 4-5 in the second and broke Verduzco while she was serving for the set.
- Bergeron came from a set down to force a match tiebreak on Court 1, but could not complete her comeback bid, falling 5-10 to Solange Skeene.
About The Phoenix
- Elon won its first ever CAA championship in the spring, winning the CAA Tournament at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center with a victory over three-time defending champion William & Mary in the final.
- The Phoenix earned the CAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and faced No. 10 Tennessee in the opening round. Elon finished the season with a 19-6 overall record, which included a 15-2 mark at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
- Simone Bergeron returns for her junior season after a breakout campaign last spring that saw her take home CAA Women's Tennis Player of the Year. Bergeron went 12-9 playing No. 1 singles and clinched Elon's CAA title with her three-set victory against William & Mary. She also went 20-4 in doubles and earned First Team All-CAA recognition in both doubles and singles.
- Bergeron's primary doubles partner last season was Mariana Reding, who also earned First Team All-CAA honors in doubles. Reding, who returns this season as a junior, went 16-6 playing Nos. 2-4 singles and won 18 doubles contests alongside Bergeron in the spring.
- Senior Helen Sarikulaya also received All-CAA recognition in both singles (Third Team) and doubles (Second Team). She won 12 singles matches, eight of which came at the No. 2 spot, to go along with 13 victories in doubles.
- Lisa Kranec earned All-CAA Second Team recognition in doubles after tallying 12 wins alongside Sarikulaya. She also posted 17 singles victories in her freshman campaign, with 13 coming at the No. 6 spot.
- Also back for the Phoenix is senior Madison Cordisco, who finished second on the team last season with 17 singles triumphs. She went 14-4 at the No. 5 position.
- Elon welcomes three newcomers this season – Cornelia Kack, Alexis Nyborg and Nathalie Marinovitch.
- Kack joined the Phoenix after earning All-CAA Third Team honors in doubles last season as a freshman at Delaware. Nyborg came to Elon following two successful seasons at UNC Asheville, where she earned All-Big South First Team honors in singles in 2025. Marinovitch, a native of Cochabamba, Bolivia, is Elon's lone freshman.
- Elon is led by reigning CAA Coach of the Year Elizabeth Anderson, who is in her 22nd season leading the Phoenix. She is joined by first-year assistant coach Allie Gretkowski, who played college tennis at South Carolina and Louisville.
Threes In Bunches
- Elon has won three consecutive matches as a team, with victories against NC Wesleyan, Liberty and George Washington.
- Four Elon players are currently on three-match winning streaks in singles – Kack, Kranec, Nyborg and Reding.
- Kack has dropped just eight games in her three-match singles winning streak, which includes three 6-0 sets.
- Reding has also been ruthless in her three straight victories, losing more than two games in just one of the six sets in those contests.
- Kranec and Nyborg came through tight matches over the weekend to reach three straight wins, with Kranec winning a first-set tiebreak against Liberty and Nyborg fighting from behind in both sets of a 7-5, 7-5 win against George Washington.
- Elon has won all 12 possible points from Nos. 2-5 singles in its three-match winning streak. The Phoenix has not dropped a set in any of those singles victories.
- Additionally, Kack and Kranec have won three straight decisions at No. 3 doubles, helping the Phoenix win the doubles point in each of its last three victories.
Super Simone
- Bergeron had a prolific sophomore campaign, becoming the first Elon player to win both CAA Player of the Year and CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
- She picked up 20 doubles victories in her sophomore campaign, tied for the third most in a season by an Elon player.
- All 12 of Bergeron's singles victories last spring came at the No. 1 position, which included the CAA title clinching win against William & Mary.
- Bergeron has compiled 60 dual wins across singles and doubles in her first three campaigns with the Phoenix. She won at least 12 matches in both singles and doubles in each of her first two seasons.
- This fall, Bergeron was selected as the CAA's singles representative at ITA Conference Masters. She was the first Elon player to compete at the event.
- Bergeron clinched the doubles point for Elon alongside Reding against George Washington on Sunday. Elon's No. 1 duo came from a break down to secure the victory and the opening point of the match.
Senior Leaders
- Cordisco and Sarikulaya both enter their senior season looking to climb up Elon's all-time record books.
- Sarikulaya began the spring with 36 career dual singles victories and needs just seven to reach the top 15 in career dual singles wins for the Phoenix. Sarikulaya has posted 11 or more singles wins in each of her first three seasons with Elon.
- Sarikulaya has also collected 29 dual doubles victories in her Elon career and is coming off a career-high 13 doubles wins last spring.
- Cordisco is up to 33 career dual doubles wins and is just one away from entering the top 15 in Elon's program history. She is coming off a career-best season in singles that saw her go 17-4.
- Cordisco and Sarikulaya have been part of 52 team victories with the Phoenix. Elon has won 68% of its matches with Cordisco and Sarikulaya on the team.
- The seniors have played doubles together in all four of Elon's matches this season. They clinched the doubles point in Elon's victory against Liberty on Friday.
The Anderson Era
- Head coach Elizabeth Anderson is entering her 22nd season leading the maroon and gold.
- Anderson has turned Elon into a consistent winner. Under her guidance, the Phoenix has posted 19 consecutive winning seasons, all of which have included double-digit victories.
- Since joining the CAA in the 2014-15 season, Elon has won at least one match in all 10 of its CAA Tournament appearances. Anderson led the program to the CAA championship match for the first time in 2022 and its first CAA title in 2025 to earn an NCAA Tournament bid.
- In Elon's final season in the Southern Conference, Anderson led the maroon and gold to the program's first NCAA Tournament berth in 2013. The Phoenix won its first Southern Conference championship that season to qualify.
- Since taking over as head coach in 2005, Anderson has tallied 311 victories at Elon. Her winning percentage is 62% in 501 career matches.
- Anderson was named CAA Coach of the Year in 2025, the second time in her career she earned the honor.
- Elon has also been a strong performer in the classroom during Anderson's tenure. The program has earned All-ITA Academic Team honors in 20 consecutive seasons.
Scouting No. 3 North Carolina
- The Tar Heels enter Tuesday with a 9-1 record and are currently No. 3 in the ITA poll.
- North Carolina is 6-0 at home this season, which includes a win over No. 1 Georgia, the defending national champions, on Feb. 1.
- The Tar Heels have three additional wins over top 15 teams already this spring – No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 9 NC State and No. 14 Virginia.
- North Carolina has not played since Feb. 8 at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. The Tar Heels suffered their first loss of the season in the quarterfinals to No. 10 Ohio State before bouncing back with a consolation victory against the Sooners.
- Reese Brantmeier is currently the top ranked singles player in the ITA rankings. Brantmeier won the NCAA singles title in November, becoming the second Tar Heel to win the individual national title.
- Also in the top 10 of the singles rankings for North Carolina is Ange Oby Kajuru, who checked in at No. 7 in the Feb. 11 rankings.
- Tatum Evans (No. 21), star freshman Anna Frey (No. 51) and Alanis Hamilton (No. 71) are also ranked in singles for the Heels.
- North Carolina has a pair of top 10 doubles duos, with Oby Kajuru and Susanna Maltby ranked No. 5 and Brantmeier and Hamilton at No. 6. Mary Grace and Alana Boyce are ranked No. 52 with Evans and Theadora Rabman at No. 61 in the rankings.
- The Tar Heels are led by head coach Brian Kalbas, who is the winningest active coach in the country with 806 career victories.
Stay Posted
For further coverage of Elon women's tennis, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonWTennis), Instagram (elonwtennis) and Facebook (Elon Women's Tennis).
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