Sports

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SPORTS 4/24/16 11:07am

Women's tennis falls in CAA semis to James Madison

By Jordan Spritzer

Elon University head women’s tennis coach Elizabeth Anderson said her team came up just short in the Phoenix’s 4-3 defeat to James Madison University in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tennis championships April 23. No. 3 seeded JMU rattled off three straights singles victories to stun the No. 2 seeded Phoenix on its home courts.

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SPORTS 4/24/16 11:00am

Baseball keeps roll going, sweeps doubleheader Saturday

By Alex Ofori

The offense kept rolling for the Elon University baseball team as the Phoenix swept a doubleheader with Hofstra University Saturday afternoon at Latham Park, winning 14-8 and 7-2. “I thought offensively we just carried over what we did at High Point [University] and with UNCG,” said Elon head coach Mike Kennedy.

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SPORTS 4/24/16 11:00am

Men's tennis falls in CAA semis at home to CofC

By Alex Simon

The Elon University men’s tennis team lost to the College of Charleston 4-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) semifinals, with a 30-point tiebreaker being the decisive moment in the match. On Court No. 2, freshman Mario Paccini battled Cougar junior Rodrigo Encinas to a third set tiebreaker, then fought back and forth through a 30-point tiebreak.

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SPORTS 4/22/16 6:36pm

Men's tennis breezes into CAA semifinals with shutout of Hofstra

By Jordan Spritzer

The Elon University men’s tennis team cruised past Hofsta University 4-0 in the quarter-finals of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tennis championship April 22 from the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center. The Phoenix won each of its singles matches, winning in straight sets at the top four singles positions to advance to tomorrow’s semi-finals. Petar Tomic clinched the victory for the Phoenix without dropping a single point 6-0, 6-0.

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SPORTS 4/22/16 6:34pm

Women's tennis moves on to CAA semis with win over Drexel

By Alex Simon

WINSTON-SALEM — The Elon University women’s tennis team defeated Drexel University 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship Tournament Friday afternoon. “We were pushed against Drexel a lot,” said head coach Elizabeth Anderson.

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SPORTS 4/21/16 4:00pm

Q&A: Elon trustee enjoys minor league ownership

By Alex Simon

Elon University gave an honorary doctorate to Wes Elingburg, PhD, at its Spring Convocation March 31. Elingburg retired as chief financial officer (CFO) at LabCorp in 2005 and has served on Elon’s Board of Trustees since 2005, spending time as chair of the board from 2010 to 2012. He and his wife, Cathy, have given to Elon on numerous occasions, and helped develop the internship program between Love School of Business students and LabCorp. But when he retired from LabCorp, Elingburg found himself looking for something new to do.

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SPORTS 4/21/16 2:00pm

Tennis teams on fire before CAA Tournament

By Alex Simon

As all of the schools in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) arrive on Elon’s campus, the Elon University men’s and women’s tennis teams enter the CAA Championships with some striking similarities. Both teams are on fire. The men’s team has won nine of its last 10 matches, with the lone loss a close defeat to conference foe College of Charleston.

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SPORTS 4/21/16 1:00pm

Coming off sweep, Elon gears up for CAA run

By Tommy Hamzik

It started with a walk. There were two outs, and the game was seemingly lost. But then came a walk. And a dropped third strike.

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SPORTS 4/16/16 9:44pm

Hall pitches out of jam to lead baseball over Towson Saturday

By Alex Simon

All season long, Elon University baseball head coach Mike Kennedy has trusted junior pitcher Chris Hall to finish games. When Hall loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth and Elon leading by two, he did not flinch. “The great thing about Hall is he shows little emotion,” said assistant coach Robbie Huffstetler.

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SPORTS 4/16/16 9:29pm

Football finishes 2nd of 3 spring scrimmages Saturday morning

By Alex Simon

The defense shone bright at the Elon University football team’s second scrimmage of the spring Saturday morning, stepping up with two interceptions and a dozen tackles for losses. “The biggest thing with the defense today was the big plays, the negative plays,” said head coach Rich Skrosky.

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SPORTS 4/16/16 2:41pm

Guba's walk-off caps off 4-run, 2-out rally to beat Towson

By Jordan Spritzer

Senior Brett Guba went from zero to hero. After striking out while representing the tying run in the bottom of the 8th, Guba capped off a 4-run ninth inning with a walk-off, 2-RBI single in the Elon University baseball team’s 9-8 victory over Towson University April 15 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. “I just had to buckle down and battle, try to get a ball in play and give us a chance,” Guba said.

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SPORTS 4/13/16 10:31pm

Elon baseball smothered by No. 12 NC State 23-3

By Alex Hager

The Elon University baseball team played host to the nationally-ranked North Carolina State Wolfpack on Tuesday night, and the Phoenix seemed to have their fate sealed early, falling 23 to three. “You gotta have a quick memory when you play baseball.” said Elon freshman shortstop Ryne Ogren, “That was a kick in the teeth.” The Wolfpack delivered an onslaught of scoring in the game’s opening frame, sending 11 batters to the plate in a seven-run first inning. The scoring didn’t stop there.

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SPORTS 4/13/16 5:00pm

College athletes see overlap between faith, sport

By Tommy Hamzik

Malaya Johnson’s mother, grandmother and uncle were all big supporters at her local church. They held executive roles, and brought Malaya along with them from when she was a baby. She sang.

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SPORTS 4/13/16 10:30am

Giving it all, giving it back

By Hannah Silvers

When making her college decision, junior catcher Emily Roper knew she was going to be a student-athlete. “My dad was a big athlete growing up, and with my brothers being college athletes, I understood the process,” she said. “When it came to me it wasn’t a, ‘Are you going to play in college?’ It was a, ‘Where are you going to play in college?’” She found her way to Elon, where she has so played in 143 of the Phoenix’s 145 games since she’s stepped on campus. This season, Roper is batting .333 with five doubles, five home runs and 29 RBI. With numbers like that, it might be tempting to let them define her. But Roper’s career at Elon — and her path to the softball program — is far more three-dimensional than a stat sheet could capture.

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SPORTS 4/10/16 12:53pm

Softball splits Saturday doubleheader against Hofstra

By Maddy MacKenzie

The Elon University softball team split a doubleheader against Hofstra University Saturday, losing 9-2 in the first game 9-2 and winning 7-1 in the second game. The Phoenix had the lead through four innings in the first game, but a two run home-run by Michaela Transue gave Hofstra the lead in the fifth and then Hofstra converted five hits into six runs to take a 9-2 lead after the sixth inning.

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SPORTS 4/5/16 6:45pm

Football starts spring practices

By Alex Simon

Most college students would love more down time. But for rising sophomore quarterback Connor Christiansen, all the down time meant he couldn’t be on the field for the Elon University football team. And now, after four months of workouts, he gets to do just that. “I don’t know how many weeks of winter workouts we had, but it felt like it would never end,” Christiansen said.

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SPORTS 4/5/16 5:30pm

Kicking it in San Antonio

By Jordan Spritzer

There’s an Elon University men’s soccer reunion of sorts beginning in San Antonio. Former Elon men’s soccer head coach Darren Powell was named the first head coach of the expansion franchise San Antonio FC in January, who’ll play in the United Soccer League (USL) – the third tier of the United States’ soccer pyramid.

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SPORTS 4/5/16 4:15pm

Column: Elon's pitching progress behind schedule

By Tommy Hamzik

It took the Elon University baseball team five pitchers to get three outs, one inning that backfired but exposed a larger problem that’s persisted through much of this season. The Phoenix pitching staff still isn’t at the caliber it was expected to reach. About halfway through the season, and three weekends into Colonial Athletic Association play, Elon’s pitchers are still struggling to do the one thing they’re supposed to do — throw strikes. Elon has walked more batters (XXX) than any other team in the CAA, and has the second most wild pitches (XXX) among CAA teams. Best representative of this was the April 2 loss to College of Charleston, the league’s reigning champion that’s spent part of this season nationally ranked.

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SPORTS 4/3/16 12:00pm

Softball sweeps doubleheader against Charleston Saturday

By Maddy MacKenzie

The Elon University softball team continued its undefeated start to Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play with two more wins against the College of Charleston Saturday, winning 5-1 in Game 1 and 4-3 in Game 2 of the doubleheader. In the first game, Elon’s offense had eight hits spread out between six batters, led by freshman second baseman Erica Serafini going 2-2 with three runs, three RBIs, and her first career home-run.

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SPORTS 4/2/16 9:34pm

Charleston rallies, sinks Elon baseball Saturday afternoon

By Alex Simon

No matter how many pitchers head coach Mike Kennedy sent out late in the game, the Elon University baseball team could not stop the damage. Kennedy used five pitchers in the seventh inning and three more in the eighth, but the Phoenix allowed three runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth in a 6-2 loss Saturday afternoon at Latham Park. “We haven’t been good enough to throw guys for a full inning,” Kennedy said.

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