Sports

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SPORTS 11/9/16 4:15pm

How Elon hosted a USA-USSR women's basketball game during the middle of the Cold War

By Alex Simon

For Dr. Janie P. Brown, the trips back and forth to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (NCSHoF) meetings from her log cabin home in Northern Alamance County can take a good amount of time. But the retired Elon University professor of physical education doesn’t mind the drive, especially when she can be a part of the induction process as a Board of Director. This past summer, the NCSHoF inducted Susan Yow, leading Brown to reminisce on the memories of Yow’s playing days under her sister, Kay, when at the then-Elon College. And while some memories have faded over the years, there’s one event Brown couldn’t possibly forget. The June 3, 1974 women’s basketball game at Elon’s Alumni Memorial Gym between the U.S.

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SPORTS 11/8/16 4:00pm

Men's basketball ready for experience to shine through

By Alex Simon

As the Elon University men’s basketball team gears up for another season, head coach Matt Matheny hasn’t been shy to hide his delight in his team’s work since last year’s disappointing finish. “We have talked a lot to our players about how proud we are of how they worked in the offseason,” Matheny said.

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SPORTS 11/8/16 3:00pm

Women's basketball hoping that 12 is the right number

By Alex Simon

Elon University women’s basketball head coach Charlotte Smith knows that she is working with one of the smallest rosters in the country. And she doesn’t seem to care, really only bringing one concern into the season about it. “I love the number that we have,” Smith said.

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SPORTS 11/8/16 2:30pm

Strength, energy defined Dennion on, off field

By Tommy Hamzik and Alex Simon

They gathered at midfield, where she played 37 matches in her No. 22 jersey, where she was honored on senior day a year ago, where she touched the hearts of many through her tenacious, dominant play. And right there, on Rudd Field, Nicole Dennion’s former teammates, friends and fellow Elon University athletes lit up this cold November night with candles that formed the number “22” and her initials, “N.K.D.” and with countless memories and stories of the high-energy, always honest woman taken too soon. The game-day selfies she and best friend Mel Insley ‘16 used to take.

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SPORTS 11/6/16 12:42am

Men's soccer season ends with 1-0 loss in CAA quarterfinals

By Paul LeBlanc

The Elon University men's soccer team's season is effectively over after the Phoenix fell to the College of William and Mary 1-0 Saturday night in the CAA tournament quarterfinal match at Rudd Field. Despite being outshot 12 to five, the Phoenix had plenty of opportunities around the net, including three corner kicks.

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SPORTS 11/5/16 7:54pm

Football sputters to 5th-straight loss at Towson

By Alex Simon

TOWSON, Md. — Another Saturday of opportunities squandered led to the Elon University football team dropping its fifth straight game, this one a 23-6 defeat at Towson University Saturday afternoon in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action. The Phoenix had three drives reach inside the Towson 10-yard line, but none of the three resulted in touchdowns, including a fumble at the 1-yard line that Towson recovered. “I think this one went similar to our previous several,” said head coach Rich Skrosky.

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SPORTS 11/5/16 5:13pm

Nicole Dennion, former women's soccer player, dies at 22

By Tommy Hamzik

Nicole Dennion '16, the former women's soccer player who's battled forms of cancer since her sophomore year at Elon University, died Saturday according to a former teammate. She was 22.

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SPORTS 11/4/16 3:00pm

Men's soccer gears up for CAA tournament

By Roman Costa

The Elon University men’s soccer team is gearing up for what is expected by many to be a competitive post-season tournament in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The Phoenix will undoubtedly be looking to get out of the slump it endured towards the end of the season that saw head coach Chris Little’s team drop three straight matches despite having played tough and competitive soccer throughout each performance.

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SPORTS 11/2/16 1:00am

Volleyball sweeps NC Central to end nonconference play

By Andrew Schwartz

The Elon University volleyball team got back on the right track Tuesday night, sweeping North Carolina Central University (25-20, 25-13, 25-17) in a nonconference match at Alumni Gym. “I think this game gave us a lot of confidence going into our last two weekends in conference games," said junior outside hitter Sydney Busa.

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SPORTS 10/31/16 12:00pm

Back-to-back: Ciolkowski repeats as CAA cross country champ

By Alex Simon

For the second time in as many tries, Elon University cross country sophomore Nick Ciolkowski went to the Colonial Athletic Association championships and emerged victorious, defending his CAA individual title in Newark, Delaware Saturday morning. But Ciolkowski said he preferred this year’s method — a comfortable pace for five kilometers, a burst with around three kilometers to go, and then cruise control to a 13-second victory — over last season’s seven-tenths-of-a-second sprint to the tape. “It felt great — it was a little less stressful than last year,” Ciolkowski said.

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SPORTS 10/31/16 10:00am

Volleyball falls to Delaware in Pink Match

By Marielle Abrahamson

The Elon University’s volleyball team held their annual breast cancer awareness match, Pink Match today, Oct. 30, and although they put up a great fight, the team lost to the University of Delaware by a 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 18-25, 21-25) in Alumni Gym.  Pink Match is an event that is important to not only the volleyball team and their families, but to the community of Elon as well.

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SPORTS 10/30/16 3:00pm

Men's soccer loses 3rd straight match in 3-1 defeat to Hofstra

By Roman Costa

The Elon University men’s soccer team lost its third straight match at Rudd Field Saturday evening to Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) regular season champion Hofstra University 3-1. The match was level at 1-1 heading into the final twenty minutes of play, but the deadlock was broken when Hofstra freshman forward Luke Brown was able to collect a save from Elon redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Matthew Jegier and kick the ball into the goal, giving the Pride the lead.

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SPORTS 10/30/16 3:00pm

Women's basketball cruises to exhibition win

By Alex Simon

The Elon University women’s basketball team started its season off on the right foot, winning its lone exhibition game 74-72 over Division II Wingate University Saturday afternoon. Elon was able to storm out of the gates at the beginning of each half, holding a 23-7 advantage in both the first and third quarters.

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SPORTS 10/29/16 5:45pm

Football loses 4th straight at UAlbany

By Alex Simon

The losing skid continued for the Elon University football team Saturday afternoon as the Phoenix lost its fourth straight game, this one a 27-3 defeat at the State University of New York at Albany in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) game. The Phoenix offense continued its weeklong sputter as the Phoenix only scored three points against the Great Danes.

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SPORTS 10/29/16 4:40pm

Volleyball falls at home to Towson

By Roman Costa

Elon University’s volleyball team hosted the Towson University Tigers in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action on Friday night at Alumni Gym, but was unable to defend home court after falling behind by two sets to none, and eventually losing by three sets to one.

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SPORTS 10/28/16 4:15pm

5 student-athletes reprimanded after shooting paintballs at President Lambert's house

By Alex Simon

Five Elon University freshmen student-athletes were reprimanded by their respective athletic teams for shooting paintballs at the house of President Leo Lambert late last week, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation. Three of the athletes were football players — wide receiver Jeremiah Bridges, defensive back Khalil Moore and defensive lineman Marcus Willoughby — and two were women’s basketball players — guards Jada Graves and Madison Wilder.

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SPORTS 10/26/16 12:00pm

Football finding footing in run game

By Alex Simon

Even though the Elon University football team has struggled to score points offensively, the Phoenix has been able to move the ball well on the ground. Things were no different on Saturday, as Elon ran for 156 yards on 39 carries, averaging exactly four yards per rushing play in its 35-7 loss to the sixth-ranked University of Richmond.

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SPORTS 10/26/16 10:00am

Cross country enters CAA with multiple title targets

By Alex Simon

The mindset entering the Colonial Athletic Association Championships is a little different in the second go-round for Elon University cross country sophomore Nick Ciolkowski. “Last year was more of a, ‘Put yourself there and what happens happens.’” Ciolkowski said.

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SPORTS 10/23/16 1:12am

Agu’s brace not enough for men's soccer vs. Delaware

By Roman Costa

The difficult Homecoming Saturday continued late into the evening for the Elon University athletics teams as the men's soccer team lost to Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival University of Delaware 3-2 at Rudd Field. The Phoenix’s two first-half goals from junior striker Elijah Agu proved to be in vain, as the Blue Hens were able to recover from a 2-1 deficit to get the win at Rudd Field by a score of 3-2 on Saturday night.

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SPORTS 10/22/16 9:07pm

Football drops Homecoming game to Richmond

By Alex Simon

The Elon University football team kept it close against the sixth-ranked University of Richmond in the first half, but the Spiders turned on the jets after halftime en route to a 35-7 win Saturday afternoon at Rhodes Stadium. The Phoenix only trailed 6-0 after two quarters during the Homecoming game, but the Spiders scored touchdowns on their first four possession after the break. “Early on, we came out pretty competitive in the first half and made some big stops,” said Elon head coach Rich Skrosky.

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