Sports

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SPORTS 1/15/17 8:08pm

Women's basketball wins 9th straight as Smith gets 100th victory

By Alex Simon

Even after the Elon University women’s basketball team won its ninth straight game, a 75-65 victory over Drexel University Sunday afternoon, junior guard Shay Burnett still saw a goal Elon didn’t achieve. “They shot 40.4-percent,” Burnett said.

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SPORTS 1/14/17 8:40pm

Men's basketball notebook: JMU press slows Elon offense

By Tommy Hamzik

HARRISONBURG, Va. — After a 3-point shooting display in the first half, the Elon University men's basketball team struggled against James Madison University's press in the second half of a 60-59 loss on Saturday afternoon.

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SPORTS 1/14/17 8:29pm

Elon falls late to JMU in men's basketball

By Tommy Hamzik

HARRISONBURG, Va. — The set-up was what the Elon University men's basketball team wanted, after a 3-point shooting parade and enough defensive stops gave the Phoenix the ball, down one, with a chance to win. The shot didn't fall.

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SPORTS 1/12/17 10:37pm

Phoenix gets out to fast start, cruises by Hofstra

By Tommy Hamzik

It was clear early on that the Elon University men's basketball team was well rested. The Phoenix delivered its best shooting performance of the season and its highest scoring output in three seasons in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) as it romped past Hofstra University 96-80 on Thursday night at Alumni Gym. Sophomore guard Steven Santa Ana stayed hot, pouring in 29 points on 11 of 16 shooting, while sophomore forward Tyler Seibring scored 22 points and sophomore guard Dainan Swoope supplied 18. The victory comes after four days off for the Phoenix, which played four games in eight nights culminating with a Jan. 7 victory over Towson University.

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SPORTS 1/8/17 8:26pm

Weather delays lead to crazy travel day for Elon women's basketball

By Tommy Hamzik

While most Elon University students were outside enjoying the eight inches of snow Saturday afternoon, the women's basketball team was stuck on a plane. What should've been a simple, hour-long flight from Philadelphia to Raleigh-Durham International Airport turned into a 12-hour process from the time the team left its hotel to when it arrived back on campus, making the day between Colonial Athletic Association games just a tad more stressful than usual.

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SPORTS 1/7/17 11:26pm

Elon snaps CAA skid, tops Towson

By Tommy Hamzik

As sophomore forward Karolis Kundrotas scored on four consecutive possessions, he slowly felt a weight lifted and a sense of relief coming upon him.  Kundrotas provided the nine-point burst that turned the tides in favor of the Elon University men’s basketball team, powering the Phoenix to a 72-61 victory against Towson University on Saturday night at Alumni Gym as it snapped a three-game losing skid in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action. The start wasn’t ideal — Elon missed its first nine from the field — but Kundrotas helped spark a promising result against a stifling Towson defense that’s given Elon fits in past years. In fact, in each of the last two years, Elon’s worst shooting performance of the season came against Towson.

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SPORTS 1/2/17 4:00pm

Cignetti introduced as Elon football coach

By Alex Simon

The Elon University football team introduced Curt Cignetti as its 22nd head coach in program history Monday afternoon at a press conference. Cignetti, former coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, made it clear that he was content to stay at IUP despite other offers from FCS schools, but once he visited Elon, his “mindset had totally changed in terms of what I wanted to do.” “I really wasn't looking to make a move,” Cignetti said.

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SPORTS 12/31/16 9:00am

Curt Cignetti hired as Elon football coach

By Alex Simon

The Elon University football team has hired Curt Cignetti as the 22nd head coach in the school’s history. “I am excited about the great opportunity at Elon and humbled and honored to be chosen to lead the Phoenix football program,” Cignetti said.

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SPORTS 12/22/16 6:52am

Duke's Allen trips Elon's Santa Ana, sparking national controversy

By Emmanuel Morgan

GREENSBORO — Duke University junior guard Grayson Allen didn't burry too many shots on Wednesday, but he did plunge his head into a Gatorade towel. After a season last year that involved tripping two opponents, the Blue Devil has gone on record saying he wants to brighten his image, which has been marred with a dirty player stereotype. The exact opposite happened against Elon University.

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SPORTS 12/21/16 6:29pm

Elon can't keep early lead in 72-61 loss to #5 Duke

By Emmanuel Morgan

GREENSBORO — If the Elon University men's basketball game against Duke University Wednesday night was in March and only lasted a half, a lot of brackets would have been burned. But after leading 35-34 at halftime, the Phoenix was unable to maintain its early momentum in the second half, losing to the No. 5 Blue Devils 72-61 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

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SPORTS 12/20/16 7:45am

Skrosky resigns as Elon football coach

By Alex Simon

Elon University Director of Athletics Dave Blank announced Tuesday that head football coach Rich Skrosky resigned to take a coaching position at Florida International University. In the statement, Blank said, “This was an unexpected development.

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SPORTS 12/9/16 5:31pm

Women’s basketball comes up short at Duke

By Roman Costa

DURHAM, N.C.

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SPORTS 12/7/16 10:00am

Men's basketball reflects on Danieley’s influence

By Alex Simon

As former Elon Univeristy men’s basketball player and current social media manager Adam Constantine ’10 put it, Nov.

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SPORTS 12/6/16 11:44pm

Elon can't crack UNCA's defense in loss

By Tommy Hamzik

The Elon University men's basketball team simply couldn't break into the University of North Carolina at Asheville's defense. UNCA held Elon to its lowest scoring total of the season, as the Phoenix fell 78-67 in non-conference action Tuesday night at Alumni Gym.

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SPORTS 12/4/16 11:41pm

Men's basketball can't get tying shot off at Georgetown

By Alex Simon

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Trailing by three with the clock winding down, senior guard Luke Eddy ran the play exactly how head Elon University men’s basketball coach Matt Matheny wanted. cqjb But he was a half-second late, not able to get sophomore guard Steven Santa Ana the ball in time for a potential game-tying 3-pointer as Elon lost to Georgetown University 77-74 Sunday afternoon in Washington, D.C. “We were definitely going for a three, and we were trying to create — we had a double screen off the other side," Eddy said.

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SPORTS 12/1/16 11:17am

Danieley leaves lasting impact on Elon's athletic teams

By Alex Simon

Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Business and Operations Kyle Wills ’81 has been at Elon for a long time.

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SPORTS 12/1/16 10:30am

SIMON: Football needs improved results in 2017

By Alex Simon

There’s no sugarcoating the struggles that the Elon University football team had during the four years that seniors, like me, have been here. In total, the Phoenix won just nine of its 46 games — less than 20-percent.

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SPORTS 12/1/16 12:11am

Elon beats FIU in OT on emotional night

By Alex Simon

As the clocked ticked below 30 seconds in overtime of the Elon University men’s basketball game Wednesday night, two Florida International University defenders near trapped sophomore guard Dainan Swoope mid-court. In what was only six seconds but felt like an eternity, Swoope pivoted over and over, seemingly having no way out of the trap.

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SPORTS 11/19/16 6:48pm

JMU ends Elon football's season with 63-14 rout

By Alex Simon

HARRISONBURG, Va. — A season that was supposed to be one of growth and fulfilled promise finished its freefall Saturday afternoon with expected humiliation, as the Elon University football team lost its seventh straight game 63-14 to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champion James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia. James Madison’s offense moved the ball at will, gaining 699 yards with a near perfect balance of 362 rushing and 337 passing. “Obviously, their offense is very high-powered,” said sophomore linebacker Matt Baker, who finished with five tackles.

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SPORTS 11/16/16 10:45am

Football keeps Allison at forefront

By Alex Simon

For the Elon University football team, November 11 was more than just a day of practice ahead of its Senior Day game the next day. It had been exactly a year since teammate Demitri Allison died when he fell off of a residential building at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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