Sports

---

SPORTS 7/11/25 6:22am

Elon University athletic director outlines Phoenix Rising initiative

By Benjamin Berfield

When Elon Athletics released its new program initiative Phoenix Rising, it was with the intention of establishing a refreshed vision of the athletic program through a five-year strategic course plan. With elements such as name, image, and likeness, the transfer portal, and the House v. NCAA settlement ruling in favor of colleges to pay athletes, Phoenix Rising is an opportunity for Elon Athletics to become more innovative in their approach toward navigating the college athletics. “We have to bring it to life through the student athletes, coaches, and the people in our department, and engagement with the campus,” Athletic Director Jennifer Strawley said. 

---

SPORTS 7/5/25 2:02pm

Elon University athlete returns to his love of football

By Evan Bennett

It was 6 a.m. in a windowless basement gym tucked beneath a London student residence. While classmates slept upstairs, Tkai Wade lifted, ran and sweated in solitude. A week earlier, he’d made the Elon University football team. Now, across the Atlantic Ocean in the dead of winter, he refused to let the momentum slip. “It was definitely tiring the first few practices, confusing because I didn’t know the protocol,” Wade said. “But everybody was welcoming and they were genuine and they kind of gave me some time to acclimate.”

---

SPORTS 6/4/25 4:46pm

Elon Men's Ultimate Frisbee places fifth at D-III National Tournament

By Kathan Gandhi

Elon’s men’s ultimate frisbee team placed fifth in the 2025 USA Ultimate Division III College Championship. It was their first appearance at nationals in 10 years, and their second-best finish in team history. Of the 25 players on Elon’s roster, 23 made the cross-country trip to Burlington, Washington, where the tournament was held from May 17-20. Club president Brady Jackson said that while placing fifth was not what the team hoped for, he thinks the season was a success. "Zooming out and looking at the fact we hadn’t been there in 10 years, getting fifth is a pretty big accomplishment,” Jackson said.

---

SPORTS 5/29/25 8:11am

Elon University football stars headed to NFL, chase dreams

By Miles Hayford

Following the National Football League Draft two of the six Elon University football players that declared were drafted into the NFL. Former Elon University running back Rushawn Baker chose to sign with the New York Giants. Former Elon University wide reciever Chandler Brayboy chose to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Brayboy said he is excited to have fun playing in the NFL and fulfill his dreams of making the pros. “My dream of playing football, living out that dream, I think, is what I’m most excited for, and actually having fun within the game,” Brayboy said.

---

SPORTS 5/27/25 12:18pm

Elon University women’s track and field wins sixth CAA outdoor championship

By Benjamin Berfield

After coming up short the previous season, Elon University's women's track and field team won the 2025 CAA Championship by 25 points. They clinched the title with 147 points — 25 more than Hampton, who finished second. It is the sixth championship for the Phoenix in their ten league meets. Director of track and field and cross country Mark Elliston said he loved watching his players rally together. “It was really great to watch everyone feed off each other, knowing that we had the strength and that we were going to make a run at the championship,” Elliston said.

---

SPORTS 5/17/25 5:50pm

Elon University baseball falls to UNCW in regular season finale

By Miles Hayford

Elon struggled to score early on in its Senior Day matchup against the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, losing its final regular season game 9-5. Elon finishes the regular season with a record of 24-30 and 13-14 in conference play. The loss gave the Seahawks the series sweep as it beat Elon the two previous nights. Elon will play May 21 in the CAA Tournament, hosted by the College of Charleston. Elon enters the tournament on a five-game losing streak.

---

SPORTS 5/13/25 4:34pm

Elon University softball captures first-ever CAA Championship

By Miles Hayford

Elon softball's win over Campbell on May 10 secured the program’s first ever CAA Championship and the second ever league title since joining Division I in 2000, with the last one coming in 2010. Senior Kaitlyn Wells was red-hot at the plate, getting a tournament-high eight runs batted in and was named the Most Outstanding Player at the tournament. She joined redshirt junior Chloe Hatzopoulos, senior Allee Seering and fifth year Meredith Wells on the CAA All-Tournament team. Elon’s conference championship earned them an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

---

SPORTS 5/12/25 7:14pm

Elon University men’s ultimate frisbee makes national tournament for first time in 10 years

By Kathan Gandhi

Elon men’s ultimate frisbee has qualified for the Division III Men’s National Tournament for the first time since 2015. Teams will compete in warm-up play before starting the national tournament on May 17 in Burlington, Washington. The Bomb held the No. 1 position in this year’s regionals. A dominant 15-12 victory over the University of Richmond, who beat them two years prior, earned the team an automatic bid to nationals. The tournament will be streamed live on the USA Ultimate's Facebook and YouTube pages. 

---

SPORTS 5/9/25 9:09pm

Elon men’s basketball starting center transfers to Marshall

By Miles Hayford

Elon men’s basketball’s starting center Matthew Van Komen is transferring to Marshall University. He announced his decision on social media May 9. Van Komen, who stands at 7-foot-4, was dominant in the paint for an Elon team that heavily relied on his size. He led the team in rebounds per game with an average of 7.9 and an impressive 75 blocks. That block total ranked in the top 20 in the nation and he was top 10 in blocks per game. He also added an average of 6 points per game.

---

SPORTS 5/7/25 7:28pm

Elon University Athletics, town of Elon collaborate on sports-driven economic planning

By Monika Jurevicius

The town of Elon’s Downtown Development Director Jill Weston said one of the town’s missions is to produce more involvement with the students and Elon University — and is starting with Elon Athletics. As a town of under 12,000 residents, Weston knows there will be challenges as more people and traffic come into Elon as the school grows, but the town’s leadership is receptive to balancing what the town’s needs are for the future. Sport management professor Alex Traugutt, who researches college athletic finances, said the cross-collaboration between athletics and the town hasn't been ingrained in Elon yet. 

---

SPORTS 5/7/25 9:13am

Elon softball enters CAA Championships as 2 seed

By Miles Hayford

Elon softball finished its regular season on May 3 with a series win over Campbell University, ending the regular season with a record of 29-18 and were 21-6 in conference play. Its strong conference play earned the team the No. 2 seed in the CAA Championships — the second time it earned that seeding. Elon’s seeding gives it a bye, allowing it to start play a day after the tournament starts with a May 8 matchup against the winner of No. 3 College of Charleston and No. 6 Hofstra. 

---

SPORTS 5/6/25 2:31pm

Rocket League sparks connection at Elon

By Erin Martin

Founded in 2015, Elon’s esports scene has been growing steadily over the past few years, along with the rest of the world. This year marked a major step forward for Elon’s Rocket League program. The team competes under the Collegiate Carball Association and played in a Collegiate Conference Series tournament with other schools from the Coastal Athletic Association. The team also recently competed in the ZCL — a community based, independently managed tournament. There, Elon dominated the competition, sweeping through the bracket to take home the championship title.

---

SPORTS 5/3/25 5:36pm

Nick Dorn transfers from Elon to Indiana University in pursuit of NBA dreams

By Liya Rike

Nick Dorn, a former member of Elon’s men’s basketball team, entered the NCAA transfer portal on March 25 and announced his commitment to Indiana University on April 24. After reviewing game footage and discussing his decision with his coaches and family, Dorn decided that transferring would give him a better opportunity to reach the professional level. Dorn’s transfer to Indiana is a step up to a Big Ten program with rich basketball history, including 41 NCAA Tournament appearances and five national championships. Elon, by contrast, has never made the NCAA Tournament in its Division I history. 

---

SPORTS 4/27/25 8:45pm

Gritty performance by Elon men’s tennis falls short in CAA championship

By Benjamin Berfield

The Elon University men’s tennis team was denied a Coastal Athletic Association championship by the University of North Carolina, Wilmington for the fourth straight year April 27. It was a gritty effort by the Phoenix, but a doubles defeat along with an initial loss in singles proved too much to overcome. Elon entered the match as one of the CAA’s hottest teams. The team was the winner in 8 of its last 10 games, and was fresh off a 4-1 victory against Monmouth on April 26. However, one of the team’s weaknesses was doubles matches.

---

SPORTS 4/27/25 3:43pm

Elon University women’s tennis wins first CAA Championship in program history

By Miles Hayford

Elon women’s tennis made history April 27, winning its first CAA Championship in program history by beating William & Mary 4-2 in a thrilling affair that came down to the wire. William & Mary came into the match looking to win its fourth consecutive CAA Championship, but Elon was not any standard opponent. The Phoenix were the No. 1 seed in the tournament — the first time in program history — and beat the Tribe 4-3 recently in its final regular season match. Elon’s win earns them an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which starts May 15.

---

SPORTS 4/27/25 12:46am

Elon University men’s tennis advances to CAA championship game in dominant fashion

By Kathan Gandhi

Elon University men’s tennis showed out in its semifinal game versus Monmouth University in the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament on April 26, winning 4-2. The Phoenix came in hot, having an 8-2 record in its last 10 games. Elon will now play three-time defending champion University of North Carolina, Wilmington tomorrow, whom it has lost to in the CAA Championship game the last three years in a row. The winner will clinch an automatic bid to play in the NCAA Tournament on May 15. The match will begin at 2 p.m. April 27 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. 

---

SPORTS 4/26/25 4:03pm

Elon University women’s tennis beats Charleston, advances to CAA Championship

By Miles Hayford

With a mostly home crowd that packed the bleachers of Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, Elon women’s tennis beat the College of Charleston 4-0 in the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament semifinals on April 26. It advances Elon to its second CAA Championship in program history and the first since 2022. Elon will play three-time defending champion William & Mary at 10 a.m. tomorrow April 27 for the championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, a rematch of the 2022 CAA championship. 

---

SPORTS 4/25/25 11:06am

Elon’s newest volleyball head coach looks to build player-coach connections

By Benjamin Berfield

When Matt Troy took the head coaching job for Elon University’s volleyball team, he saw it as an opportunity to grow as a coach. Troy previously hadn’t heard much about Elon’s volleyball program but after watching film of the team, he believed they had potential that could be built upon once the season begins in August. Last year, Elon finished 11-18. While Troy does plan on incorporating a few things such as an up-tempo offense, he isn’t looking to change everything about the team.

---

SPORTS 4/24/25 7:57pm

Elon University men’s basketball star transfers to Indiana University

By Miles Hayford

Elon men’s basketball’s star sophomore Nick Dorn is transferring to Indiana University, he announced on social media on April 24. Dorn was instrumental for the Phoenix these past two years as he made the CAA All-Rookie Team after a stellar freshman year that saw four CAA Rookie of the Week awards. This past season he was second on the team in points per game with an average of 15.2 and also had 3.8 rebounds per game. He was lights out from beyond the arc, leading the team in 3-pointers attempted and in 3-pointers made with 74. 

---

SPORTS 4/19/25 4:15pm

Elon women’s tennis beats William & Mary 4-2 in final regular season match

By Kathan Gandhi

Elon women’s tennis topped the College of William & Mary in its final match of the regular season. The day started with an impressive doubles win from sophomores Simone Bergeron and Mariana Reding. On top of impressive volleys and consistent rallies, Bergeron’s energy, which is often shown with triumphant screams, is a key factor in their success. The pair won 6-4, improving their doubles record to 16-3. Elon now turns its attention to the CAA Tournament, which will be hosted at Elon. The tournament begins on April 25 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.

---