ELON, N.C. – Every Monday, Phoenix fans can get a look at the week ahead with our “Elon Athletics Weekly Update” feature when we will preview all the week’s upcoming events for our sports teams. “Follow us” on Twitter at @elonphoenix and @elonscores, “Like” Elon Phoenix on Facebook and continue to check elonphoenix.com to stay current on all things Elon Athletics.
Baseball (23-13, 9-6)
Elon at North Carolina, Wednesday, April 16, at 6 p.m., Chapel Hill, N.C.
Elon vs. Appalachian State, Friday-Sunday, April 18-20 at 6:30 / 6:30 / 2 p.m., Latham Park
• Elon put together a 3-1 week that included coach Mike Kennedy’s 600th career win. That milestone victory came in Saturday’s 12-2 win at Wofford.
• Junior Casey Jones continues to swing a hot bat. He has now hit safely in 22 consecutive games.
• The Phoenix will play four games again this week. Elon will first face North Carolina on Wednesday night before returning home to host Appalachian State in a three-game SoCon set this weekend. Elon is 9-31 all-time against UNC, but boasts a commanding 62-15 edge in the series against the Mountaineers.
Men’s Golf
Elon at The Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational, Monday-Tuesday, April 14-15, Spartanburg, S.C.
Elon at Southern Conference Championship, Sunday-Tuesday, April 20-22, Pinehurst, N.C.
• The Phoenix will play its final two tournaments of the 2013-14 year in the coming week. First, Elon will participate in the 15-team Wofford Invitational before ending the year at the SoCon Championship.
• The field at Wofford includes one top-50 team in TCU as well as two top-25 individuals in Western Carolina’s J.T. Poston (17th) and TCU’s Julien Brun (19th).
• In its last outing, Elon placed fifth out of 18 teams at the Furman Intercollegiate with a score of 881. Leading the way for the Phoenix was senior John Somers who tied for 14th out of 111 players with a 218.
Men’s Tennis (16-4, 9-0)
Southern Conference Tournament
#1 Elon vs. #8 Davidson /#9 Chattanooga, Thursday, April 17, at 8:30 a.m., Chattanooga, Tenn.
• With the regular season over, the men’s tennis team enters the 2014 Southern Conference Tournament on Thursday, April 17, at 8:30 a.m. against the winner of Wednesday’s 8/9 matchup between Davidson and Chattanooga.
• Though clinching the SoCon regular season title last week, Elon’s 12-match winning streak came to an end on Saturday, April 12, on Senior Day against East Carolina at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, as Elon dropped a 4-1 decision to the East Carolina Pirates to mark the Phoenix’s first loss since Feb. 24 against UNC Wilmington.
• Elon’s matches against Davidson and Chattanooga this season were two of the first three SoCon matches of the year for the Phoenix, both at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The Phoenix defeated Chattanooga 7-0 to open SoCon play on March 1, then beat Davidson in its third conference match of the season by the score of 6-1.
• The winner of Thursday’s match will move on to face the winner of No. 4 Appalachian State/No. 5 Samford in the semifinals on Friday, April 18, at 10 a.m.
Softball (21-20-1, 4-11)
Elon at Longwood (DH), Tuesday, April 15, at 4:30 p.m., Farmville, Va.
Elon at East Carolina, Friday-Saturday, April 18-19, 5/1/3 p.m., Greenville, N.C.
• The Phoenix will travel on the road this week with non-conference contests at Longwood on Tuesday and East Carolina on Friday and Saturday.
• Senior Carleigh Nester became the program’s all-time leader in doubles with 49 on Sunday, April 13, versus Appalachian State. Nester moved past Dani Concepcion’s (2002-05) nine-year record of 48 with her 49th career two-bagger versus the Mountaineers.
• The Phoenix won its 20th game of the season last Wednesday, April 9, with a 7-3 win at North Carolina A&T. The win made Phoenix third-year head coach Kathy Bocock the only coach in school history to achieve 20 or more victories in each of her first three seasons at Elon in the fast-pitch era.
Women’s Golf
Elon at Southern Conference Championship, Monday-Tuesday, April 14-15, Hilton Head Island, S.C.
• Elon will complete the 2013-14 year at the SoCon Championship which got underway on Sunday.
• The Phoenix finished day one of the tournament in fourth place with a score of 318.
• Sophomore Emily Brooks led the maroon and gold on day one, shooting a 77 to sit in a tie for seventh individually.
Women’s Lacrosse (6-7, 2-0)
Elon at Howard, Saturday, April 19, at 1 p.m., Washington, D.C.
• Elon finished out the home portion of its schedule a perfect 5-0 after an 18-7 win over A-Sun opponent Kennesaw State on Sunday. The Phoenix remains undefeated in conference play with a 2-0 record and three regular-season games remaining.
• Molly Garrigan scored a career-high six goals in the 11-goal win over the Owls. The native of Milton, Ga., is second on the team in goals scored this season with 23.
• The Phoenix will continue A-Sun play this week with a game at Howard on Saturday. The following week the maroon and gold will travel south to Florida to take on Stetson and Jacksonville to close out regular-season competition.
Women’s Tennis (12-8, 6-3)
Southern Conference Tournament
#4 Elon vs. #5 UNCG, Thursday, April 17, at 1 p.m., Chattanooga, Tenn.
• Though stumbling into the final week of the regular season, the women’s tennis team enters the 2014 SoCon Tournament still with a bye into the quarterfinals and is set to take on fifth-seeded UNC Greensboro on Thursday, April 17, at 1 p.m.
• Elon won its final two matches of the regular season to earn the No. 4 seed, including coming out victorious in a key match Thursday, April 10, against UNCG in Greensboro, N.C. The winner of that match would be the No. 4 seed in the SoCon Tournament. Last time out on Saturday, April 12, Elon swept Western Carolina 7-0 on Senior Day for Jordan Johnston, Frida Jansaker and Bryn Khoury.
• The winner of Thursday’s match will move on to face the winner of the match between No. 1 Furman and No. 8 Davidson/No. 9 Wofford in the semifinals on Friday, April 18, at 1 p.m.