Elon Unveils 2017 Women’s Tennis Schedule

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women’s tennis team released its 2017 schedule today, Dec. 23, as announced by head coach and reigning Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year Elizabeth Anderson. The Phoenix is scheduled to play 25 matches, which includes two matchups against ACC opponents, and six against teams that earned a trip to the 2016 NCAA Women’s Championship.

FULL SCHEDULE

The Phoenix is scheduled to play 14 matches at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center in 2016, which includes eight in March and April.

Elon returns six student-athletes from the 2016 team that reached the semifinals of the CAA Championships last season at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. Among those returning includes 2016 CAA First Team All-Conference selections Erica Braschi and Olivia Lucas. The Phoenix also added two newcomers as Alex Koniaev joined the team in the fall and Sofia Edo will be added to the team in January.

Here are five things to know about the 2017 Elon women’s tennis schedule:

Challenging Competition
Elon will face four teams that played in the 2016 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships: William & Mary, Duke, North Carolina, VCU, Winthrop and South Carolina State.

William & Mary, which earned an NCAA Tournament bid by winning the CAA Championship, will face the Phoenix on Jan. 22 in Williamsburg, Va. Elon will also host NCAA Tournament participants South Carolina State (Jan. 20) and Winthrop (March 12). Road trips at Duke (Jan. 25), North Carolina (Feb. 21), and VCU (March 4) await the Phoenix.

The Phoenix will also face three opponents that finished in the end-of-year Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) top-75 rankings: North Carolina (4), Duke (14) and William & Mary (39).

Continuing in the Colonial
The 2017 season will be Elon’s third as a member of the CAA. The Phoenix faces five teams – William & Mary (Jan. 22), Towson (Feb. 11), UNCW (Feb. 25), College of Charleston (April 8) and James Madison (April 15) – from the CAA. Those matches do not count as conference matches since there is no league play in the CAA.

Elon finished with a record of 14-10 in its second season, including a 5-1 mark against CAA teams. The Phoenix earned the No. 2 seed in the CAA Championships and advanced past seventh-seeded Drexel before falling to third-seeded James Madison in the semifinals.

First-time Opponents
For the first time in program history, Elon will face VCU (March 4) and Hawaii (March 22).

Familiar Foes
The 2017 slate includes 15 common opponents from last season (North Carolina, Duke, William & Mary, Gardner-Webb, UNCG, UNCW, NC Central, North Carolina A&T, Davidson, College of Charleston, James Madison, Towson, East Carolina, South Carolina State and USC Upstate).

The Phoenix faces East Carolina (April. 1) for the sixth straight season and the 17th time in the last 18 seasons. Elon will take on former Southern Conference foe Davidson for the 15thconsecutive season. The maroon and gold faces USC Upstate for the fourth time in five season and will face UNCG for the eighth time and for the seventh straight season.