ELON – The No. 74 Elon women's tennis team (7-3) narrowly fell 4-3 to No. 66 South Alabama (9-0) in a ranked matchup Wednesday afternoon at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
 
The Jaguars rallied after losing the doubles point, winning the final two singles contests in final sets to secure the victory. The contest marked Elon's first ranked matchup since 2015.
 
The Rundown

• Elon clinched the doubles point with wins on Courts 1 and 3.
• On Court 3, Cornelia Kack and Lisa Kranec dropped the opening game but controlled the rest of the match, defeating Jade Marie and Ava Rath, 6-2.
• Simone Bergeron and Mariana Reding secured the point for the Phoenix with a 6-4 victory against Kenza Elakili and Manal Ennaciri on Court 1, breaking serve on a deciding deuce point. The win marked their seventh doubles victory of the season. Bergeron and Reding have now won five straight matches together.
• Elon's Nos. 1 and 3 duos are tied for the team lead with seven wins this spring.
• With the result, Elon has claimed five consecutive doubles points.
• Kack earned Elon's first singles victory, cruising past Ennaciri, 6-3, 6-1. It was the sophomore's seventh win of the spring, all of which have come at the No. 2 spot.
• South Alabama won in straight sets on Courts 1 and 6, tying the match at 2-2.
• Reding delivered a key win on Court 3. After dropping the first set 6-3, she responded by taking the next two sets 6-3, 6-1 to put the Phoenix ahead 3-2. Reding has now won five straight singles matches and leads Elon with eight victories this spring.
• At the No. 5 spot, Nyborg battled to keep the Phoenix alive. After splitting the first two sets 6-4, 4-6, she trailed 5-2 in the third before breaking serve to stay alive at 5-3. She then saved three match points to win the next game and pull within one at 5-4, but ultimately fell 6-4, as the Jaguars tied the match at 3-3.
• On Court 4, Kranec mounted an impressive comeback in the second set after dropping the first. The sophomore trailed 5-2 before winning four straight games to take a 6-5 lead, eventually claiming the set in a tiebreak, 7-6 (4). The win marked her third tiebreak victory in four attempts this season and improved her career tiebreak record to 5-2. She later dropped the third set, sealing the match for South Alabama.
• The loss snaps Elon's four-match winning streak, during which the Phoenix had not dropped a point. It also marked the first time this season Elon lost a match after securing the doubles point, moving to 7-1 in such matches.

Up Next
The Phoenix will travel to face Furman on Saturday. First serve in Greenville, S.C. is scheduled for 11 a.m.
 
Stay Posted   
For further coverage of Elon women's tennis, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonWTennis), Instagram (elonwtennis) and Facebook (Elon Women's Tennis).
 
Results
Singles
1. Rio Maeda (South Alabama) def. Simone Bergeron (Elon) 6-3, 6-2
2. Cornelia Kack (Elon) def. Manal Ennaciri (South Alabama) 6-3, 6-1
3. Mariana Reding (Elon) def. Cristina Tchanichev (South Alabama) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
4. Jana Rovira (South Alabama) def. Lisa Kranec (Elon) 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-1
5. Jade Marie (South Alabama) def. Alexis Nyborg (Elon) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Kenza Elakili (South Alabama) def. Nathalie Marinovitch (Elon) 6-4, 6-4
 
Doubles
1. Simone Bergeron/Mariana Reding (Elon) def. Kenza Elakili/Manal Ennaciri (South Alabama) 6-4
2. Rio Maeda/Jana Rovira (South Alabama) def. Nathalie Marinovitch/Alexis Nyborg (Elon) 6-3
3. Cornelia Kack/Lisa Kranec (Elon) vs. Jade Marie/Ava Rath (South Alabama) 6-2
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,1,6,3,5,4)