Elon Women’s Tennis Splits Doubleheader in Durham

DURHAM, N.C. – Elon University women’s tennis earned a split in a doubleheader at Duke University with a loss to the No. 9-ranked Blue Devils and a victory over Meredith College on Wednesday, Jan. 24, at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.
DUKE RESULTS | MEREDITH RESULTS

Olivia Lucas had a strong performance for Elon (3-2) finishing 2-1 overall in singles and doubles combined. Although she dropped both of her matches against Duke, Lucas battled in her singles match against No. 7-ranked Samantha Harris of the Blue Devils at No. 1 singles, taking three games from the top-10 nationally ranked player in the second set. She came back to pick up a win in both singles and doubles against the Avenging Angels in the evening.

“It was great for us to get a chance to compete in two matches today,” said head coach Elizabeth Anderson. “Our team is improving with every match we play. It was good for us as a team to get a chance to play some tough competition and get a lot of matches in as we continue to get better.”

HIGHLIGHTS
In the first match of the doubleheader, Duke (1-0) took the doubles point and the early 1-0 advantage. After Meible Chi and Hannah Zhao earned a 6-1 win on court three, No. 1-ranked doubles team of Samantha Harris and Kelly Chen clinched the point with a 6-2 victory on the top court. Lucas and Alex Koniaev battled at No. 2 doubles, but their match went unfinished as the doubles point had already been clinched.

Duke opened singles play taking a 2-0 advantage after a win on court three. In a tight battle on court one, No. 7-ranked Samantha Harris earned a 6-0, 6-3 against Lucas. Ellyse Hamlin clinched the win for the Blue Devils with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Maria Paraja.

In the second match of the doubleheader, the Phoenix earned its third win of the season with a 7-0 shutout of Meredith College (0-1). Phoenix only dropped two games in singles and doubles action combined and cruised to the shutout victory. Suzanne Zenoni and Paraja clinched the doubles point with a 6-0 victory at the No. 1 position. Mia Wallace clinched the victory in singles action with a clean 6-0, 6-0 sweep at No. 6 singles.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix (3-2) wraps up its four-match swing away from home Feb. 9-10, with matches against Liberty and Troy in Lynchburg, Va.