In a display of skill and coordination, Elon women’s tennis excelled in a commanding display against Salem, achieving a clean sweep across all courts with three 6-0 victories during doubles play. They also won handedly in singles. 

The team’s success on the courts can be attributed to a focused and individualized training program implemented in recent weeks, head coach Elizabeth Anderson, said. 

“We’ve been doing a lot of work individually with each player over the past few weeks and stuff,” Anderson said. “I think that helped a lot today, to be able to practice those things that they’ve been working on and I think just to continue for them to be able to improve.”

The double team of sophomore Simone Bergeron and sophomore Mariana Reding particularly stood out with their dominance, 6-0.

Bergeron said their game plan focused around serving and volleying.

“Mar and I love when Mar’s at the baseline and I’m at the net,” Bergeron said. “We do a lot of serve-volley when I am serving, and then when Mars is serving, we like to set up her forehand so we can finish the point early.” 

This tactic of playing to their strengths allowed them to control the pace and the flow of the game, effectively shutting down their opponents as the scoreboard reflected. 

Bergeron also emphasized the importance of their pre-match routines, which helped build a positive and energetic team atmosphere before playing. 

“I like to get a lot of music going in the morning,” Bergeron said. “I play loud music in my room and then I get to the courts super early, and we get bumping in the locker room and then lots of fluids, lots of eating and then we come out and we hit and we just enjoy ourselves.” 

The only lost game of any of the matches came when Reding dropped a game in her singles match, but Reding bounced back and won the set 6-1. 

Anderson praised the entire team’s physical and mental endurance throughout the matches. 

“They fought really hard and competed super hard,” Anderson. 

With an upcoming match against Furman, the team remains focused on individual improvement and becoming more of a cohesive team as it gets farther in the season.

Anderson said the team aims to compete hard and go after it with energy and excitement against Furman. 

The Phoenix seeks another victory against Furman at 1 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.