Elon women's tennis kicked off day two of the Jimmy Powell Invitational this Saturday. On Friday, the Phoenix were on fire, winning fifteen singles matches and three doubles victories. The team hoped to carry that momentum into Saturday's matches.
Head coach Elizabeth Anderson gave her team some advice heading into their second day of competition.
“We were focusing on being really gritty today, and it’s always hard after a long day,” Anderson said.
As the doubles matches got underway the Phoenix started strong. Junior doubles partners Lisa Dierick and Sonja Rooth were able to get the Phoenix on the board early, defeating James Madison University, 6-4.
Sophomore Lisa Kranec and freshman Alexandria Warsing also worked together to distance themselves from East Carolina University winning, 6-3.
The Phoenix won 7 out of 10 matches, continuing their hot streak heading into singles competition.
Junior Cornelia Kack was pushed to the limit in a competitive singles match. As the match got underway, she advanced to a 3-0 lead in the first set. Though Kack and her opponent were going rally for rally.
Both women battled competitively throughout the whole match, especially in the final set. Kack had a good lead, but her opponent kept fighting back. Both ladies put their heart on the line but, Kack was able to push through the attack and claim the victory for the Phoenix winning 6-2, 7-6 (2). Kack won the singles competition overall, going 3-0 and totalling 17 points.
During the match, Kack was talking to herself to make sure she stayed focused, so she could secure that win.
“I just tell myself to keep having fun and always be tough and play to win”, Kack said. “I always try to play my own game”.
Another star for the Phoenix was senior Simone Bergeron. After losing her doubles match earlier, she came out with a burst of energy. As the first set got underway, she was running her opponent all over the court, barely letting her have a chance to settle.
Bergeron remained calm and collected throughout the whole match, even when her opponent started to gain a bit of momentum. She claimed another Phoenix singles victory, winning 6-1, 6-2.
Freshman Iga Piotrowska also had a close match. Piotrowska had a slow start in the beginning, with her opponent controlling most of the points.
When her opponent was up 4-5, a light switch clicked for Piotrowska. She started dominating every ball that came her way and was able to regroup. Piotrowska had to grind out the set, but in the end she won, 7-6 (3).
Piotrowska then took control of the second set and delivered hard hits to a place where the opponent had no shot of getting the ball. She finished out the set and won the match, 7-6 (3), 6-1.
The Phoenix were victorious in every singles match on day two, continuing their hot streak from the first day of the tournament. The Phoenix only dropped two singles matches the whole tournament.
Anderson is proud of how her team performed over these past two days.
“I thought the team competed really well, and we’ve been practicing hard on developing each individual's game,” Anderson said. “I felt they did a really good job of working on those things here in the competitions and competing well as a team.”
The Phoenix are preparing for regionals but Kack believes that they have bigger goals in mind.
“I think we have a great team this year, and I think we have a very good chance of winning,” Kack said.
The team is seeking to win their third Coastal Athletic Association title in three straight years. Elon has a minor break before heading to South Carolina for the ITA Carolina Regionals from Oct. 15 to 19.