ELON – The Elon women's tennis team (0-1) resumes play Friday night with a match against NC Wesleyan at Starmount Country Club in Greensboro. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.  
 
Elon vs. NC Wesleyan Briefing
Match Details: Feb. 6, 2026 | Greensboro, N.C. | Starmount Country Club | 6 p.m.
Admission: Free 
Elon Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
NC Wesleyan Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
 
The Matchup 

• Friday night will be the third all-time meeting between Elon and NC Wesleyan.
• The Phoenix won both previous matchups, 7-0. The first came in 2013 with the most recent coming in 2018.

Last Time Out

• Elon dropped its season opener Friday, falling 7-0 to Charlotte in a hard fought road match.
• Charlotte earned the doubles point with wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots.
• Simone Bergeron and Mariana Reding contested a tight match at the No. 1 spot against Charlotte's top duo of Ni Xi and Sara Suchankova, who entered the season No. 47 in the ITA doubles rankings. The 49ers held off the Phoenix tandem for a 6-4 win.
• Charlotte won in straight sets on Courts 1, 3 and 4 in singles to take a 4-0 lead in the match.
• On Court 1, Bergeron pushed Xi, who is No. 72 in the ITA singles rankings, in a tight opening set. However, Xi won the last two games to win the frame, 7-5, before wrapping up the contest in the second set.
• Nyborg also played a tight opening set in her first spring appearance with the Phoenix. The junior ultimately fell 5-7, 1-6 against Charlotte's Lucia Andrea.
• The 49ers picked up another victory at the No. 6 spot. Madison Cordisco took the opening set against Yelyzaveta Chainykova, 6-4, before Chainykova came back to win the next two frames for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory.
• Playing No. 2 singles, Kack rallied from 2-5 down in the opening set against Suchankova to force a tiebreak, but Suchankova responded to win the breaker. Kack again mounted a late charge after falling behind in the second set, but Suchankova held on for a 7-6 (1), 6-4 triumph.
• Kranec also came from behind in her opening set on Court 5 versus Prisca Abbas, reeling off the final three games to turn a 3-4 deficit into a 6-4 victory. Abbas leveled the match by winning a tiebreak in the second set before closing out a victory in a match tiebreak.

 
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.

 
Fall Recap

• The Phoenix racked up 93 total victories across singles and doubles in five tournaments this fall.
• Sarikulaya paced the Phoenix with 19 total wins across singles and doubles. She won 10 of her 11 singles contests and added nine doubles decisions.
• Five more Phoenix won at least eight singles matches this fall – Kranec (9), Bergeron (8), Cordisco (8), Kack (8) and Nyborg (8).
• Kack led Elon with a 10-1 doubles record, with Kranec joining Sarikulaya with nine doubles triumphs apiece.
• Bergeron was the first Elon player to represent the CAA at ITA Conference Masters, going 2-2 in singles at the event, which was held in San Diego from Nov. 6-9.
• Elon hosted its last of three fall tournaments, the Phoenix Fall Invitational, at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on Nov. 1-2. Bergeron and Reding won the doubles competition with 12 points after going 3-0 in doubles over the weekend. In total, the Phoenix went 10-1 in doubles during the event.
• Kranec (6-0), Sarikulaya (6-0) and Cordisco (5-0) all finished the Phoenix Fall Invitational unbeaten across singles and doubles.
• Elon competed at ITA Carolina Regionals on Oct. 16-19. North Carolina hosted the event at the Chewning Tennis Center. Bergeron, Nyborg and Sarikulaya all made the main draw for singles, with four Elon doubles teams competing in the main draw.
• The Phoenix finished Regionals with 12 total wins across the qualifying and main draws. Elon won two main draw doubles matches.
• Elon hosted the Elon Fall Invitational from Oct. 3-4 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, compiling 27 wins across singles and doubles in its second home event, with 18 in singles and nine in doubles.
• Nyborg won the singles competition at the Elon Fall Invitational with 16 points after a 3-0 weekend. Kack teamed up with Kranec to win the doubles competition following a 3-0 tournament together.
• The Phoenix opened its fall season on Sept. 19-20 by hosting the Jimmy Powell Invitational.
• Elon totaled 31 victories across doubles and singles, with 19 on Friday and 12 on Saturday. The Phoenix went 10-2 in doubles and 21-3 in singles over the weekend, losing just nine sets in those 24 singles contests.
• Bergeron and Reding won the doubles competition with 12 points, going 3-0 over the weekend. Bergeron also shared the singles title with 12 points after posting a 2-1 mark.
• Kack, Nyborg, Kranec, Cordisco and Sarikulaya all finished the event with a perfect 3-0 record in singles. Cordisco and Kack also went 3-0 as a doubles pair to finish the weekend 6-0 overall.

 
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 57 dual wins across singles and doubles in her first two campaigns with the Phoenix. She has won at least 12 matches in both singles and doubles in each season.
• 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.

 
Senior Leaders

• Cordisco and Sarikulaya both enter their senior season looking to climb up Elon's all-time record books.
• Sarikulaya begins the spring with 36 career dual singles victories, needing 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 27 dual doubles victories in her Elon career and is coming off a career-high 13 doubles wins last spring.
• Cordisco comes into her senior spring with 31 career dual doubles wins and is just three 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.
• In their first three seasons, Cordisco and Sarikulaya have been part of 66 team victories with the Phoenix. Elon has won 67% of its matches over the past three years with Cordisco and Sarikulaya on the team.

 
Key Returners

• Also back from Elon's CAA championship team is Kranec and Reding, who both played pivotal roles for the Phoenix a season ago.
• Reding partnered Bergeron for 18 wins in doubles to earn her first All-CAA First Team selection. She also won 16 singles decisions last spring, including a three-set victory to clinch a regular-season victory over William & Mary.
• Reding has 31 dual singles and doubles victories through her first two seasons with the Phoenix and is 62-27 in dual matches.
• As a freshman last spring, Kranec posted 17 singles victories and 12 doubles wins, earning All-CAA accolades in doubles.
• Kranec had a 10-match winning streak in singles last season that spanned over a month from February 8 to March 18. She also delivered a singles victory in Elon's CAA championship victory against William & Mary.

 
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 308 victories at Elon. Her winning percentage is 62% in 498 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 NC Wesleyan

• Friday's contest will be NC Wesleyan's season debut.
• NC Wesleyan went 10-7 last season and won the USA South tournament title to earn a bit to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
• The Battling Bishops won their opening round NCAA match against Asbury, 4-1, before falling 1-4 in the second round to Emory.
• NC Wesleyan is led by head coach Albie Brice.

 
Stay Posted  
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