Elon women's basketball team safe after Italy earthquake
The Elon University women's basketball team is safe and en route back to North Carolina after feeling the aftershocks of a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in central Italy.
The Elon University women's basketball team is safe and en route back to North Carolina after feeling the aftershocks of a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in central Italy.
Corey Mitchell '16 has decided to forego his final year of eligibility and will not play for the Elon University football team in 2016. Mitchell graduated in May with a degree in Communication Design.
BURLINGTON — Fresh out of a blood test, former Elon University pitcher Chris Hall ’16 couldn’t help but laugh at his Sunday night. “A lot of firsts tonight,” Hall joked. The first official blood test followed his first appearance in professional baseball, in which he threw 1.1 innings for the Bluefield Blue Jays against the Burlington Royals. With about a dozen people from Elon in the stands to support Hall — including head baseball coach Mike Kennedy, assistant coach Micah Posey, and five former Elon teammates — Bluefield manager Dennis Holmberg’s decision to not pitch Hall so he could debut just six miles from his collegiate home. “I was the last guy who hadn’t thrown out of the bullpen, so I figured today was my day,” Hall said.
Elon University pitcher Chris Hall, a former catcher, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 14th round of the MLB Draft on Saturday. Hall was the 26th pick in that round and the 432nd player picked overall.
Elon University utility player Nick Zammarelli was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the eighth round of the MLB Draft on Friday. Seattle took Zammarelli with the 11th pick in the round and 237th overall.
While most Elon University seniors or graduate students have tried to set up their jobs post-commencement, Alexander Dawson ’15, MBA ’16 has never tried to be like the typical college student. After five years with the Elon football team — four years of undergrad, and a year getting his MBA — Dawson is ready to move on to his next phase of life. But, right now, he has no idea what he’s doing next. “I’ll say, ‘Well, I could start working right now and start building my wealth and see what I can do,’” Dawson said.
You’ve seen them running through campus by the half-dozen, usually staying tight together. You’ve seen them wearing their team gear to class, or to lunch, or to other athletic events. And Saturday — if you were there — you saw the Elon University women’s track and field team win its second Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Track & Field Championship in two tries, defending its title at home. If there was any doubt before, there’s no denying what they’ve believed the entire time.
The start of the 400-meter hurdles race made Elon University head women’s track and field coach Mark Elliston pace around the field at the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Track & Field Championships Saturday afternoon. The 10-year coach at Elon mumbled, “This is big,” knowing that Elon held just a five-point lead over James Madison University entering the race.
Mark Elliston, director of Elon University’s women’s track and field, has cautioned the Elon community to not miss the Phoenix’s defense of its Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship. “What we’ve done through the year is get them ready for this very moment that we’re about to come to and I believe they’re as ready as they’ve ever been,” he said. Track and field picked up Elon’s lone conference championship last year in its debut season in the CAA, behind junior distance runner Kimberly Johansen’s Most Outstanding Track Athlete of the Meet performance.
The first time senior Jess Farmer and Aly Quintana ’15 met was a typical weekend evening for college students. In March 2013 — Quintana’s sophomore year, Farmer’s freshman year — some members of the Elon University women’s basketball team and softball team got together before heading out to parties for the evening. After spending time watching each other on the court and field, the two were finally able to connect, exchanging phone numbers before the night ended. The friendship then quickly developed into something more — but not without its fair share of thought.
The Elon University men's club ultimate frisbee team hosted the USA Ultimate Division III Atlantic Coast Regional tournament last weekend. Elon's team, which goes by Big Fat Bomb, hosted seven other schools over the two-day event, with four schools from North Carolina, two from Virginia, one from Maryland and one from Washington D.C. As club president of Big Fat Bomb, senior Evan Miceli was the coordinator of the tournament and felt that the Campus Recreation department's club sports division helped him immensely with running the tournament. "I'm really happy with club sports," Miceli said.
The goal for softball pitchers is to throw about 80 to 90 pitches in a normal seven-inning game, but what would the goal be for a 15-inning game? Apparently, for senior pitcher Kayla Caruso, that number is 197. That’s how many pitches she threw in a complete game victory against No. 6 James Madison University Saturday, leading the Phoenix to a 5-4 victory in Game 1 of a doubleheader. “I’ve never pitched that many innings in a game before,” Caruso said. Caruso has been pitching at Elon all four years of her collegiate career, and it seems only fitting that she had one of her best outings of her career on her Senior Day.
The Elon University softball team split a doubleheader against No. 6 James Madison University Saturday, winning 5-4 win in 15 innings in the first game and losing 8-1 in the second game. The first game saw four lead changes occur throughout the marathon three-hour, 41-minute endeavor.
After coming back from two deficits to tie the game, the Elon University softball team could not do it a third time, falling to Virginia Tech 5-3 Wednesday afternoon at Hunt Softball Park. The Phoenix made four errors in the game, make two of the five runs unearned.
The Elon University athletic department formally announced its partnership with Under Armour Wednesday morning. The agreement makes the Baltimore-based apparel company the official outfitter of Elon's athletic teams, coaches and staff.
Four hours and 11 minutes after freshman Mario Paccini and Elon started the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) semifinal match against the College of Charleston, Paccini found himself defending for the team’s life. The young, upstart Phoenix had a 3-1 lead over the Cougars as Paccini went to a third-set tiebreak on Court No. 2 against junior Rodrigo Encinas.
Elon University head baseball coach Mike Kennedy chalked up his team’s recent offensive success to a handful of players, but more notably, two spots in the lineup. The first two. Kennedy noted freshman infielder Ryne Ogren’s ownership of the lead-off spot, along with junior utility man Nick Zammarelli’s emergence in the two-hole, as keys to Elon’s offensive prowess that plated 51 runs in a span of four games last week. Ogren and Zammarelli have formed a one-two punch, and with senior infielder Tyler McVicar’s 12-game hitting streak and freshman outfielder Liam O’Regan’s stretch of five straight games with a home run, the Phoenix is the midst of its longest conference winning streak in seven years. Elon’s won seven straight in Colonial Athletic Association play, and has climbed to third place in the league after stumbling early to a 2-7 start in the league. Ogren’s hit in the leadoff spot in every game during this hot stretch, and was a catalyst in the victory that started the streak.
After the Elon University football team’s spring game ended, rising sophomore quarterback Connor Christiansen smiled a knowing smile when asked about rising sophomore defensive back Greg Liggs Jr. “Greg Liggs has not made one play all spring until tonight,” Christiansen said through laughter. Standing just five feet away, Liggs’ eyes lit up at Christiansen’s words, and asked, “Is that on the record?” The laughter shared between these two after the exchange happened following Liggs’ phenomenal spring game, where he picked off rising sophomore quarterback Daniel Thompson three times. And it comes at the end of an admittedly difficult spring for the Greensboro native and Southeast Guilford High School graduate.
As the Elon University baseball team's offense stayed hot, freshman right-hander Mason Daniels turned in his longest outing of the year and the Phoenix completed its sweep of Hofstra University with a 10-5 victory on Sunday at Latham Park. It's Elon's eighth straight Colonial Athletic Association victory, its longest conference winning streak since 2009. Daniels went seven and one-third innings, making it past the dreaded sixth inning that's been hindering him, striking out six and allowing just two earned runs (five total) on five hits with three walks.
In the Elon University football team’s spring game, Maroon beat White 23-0, with rising sophomore defensive back Greg Liggs, Jr.