ELON, N.C. – Coming off its first win of the season last week, the Elon University women’s tennis team (1-1) travels to Florida for a pair of matches this weekend. The Phoenix will face Georgia Southern on Saturday and North Florida on Sunday. Both matches will be played at North Florida’s campus in Jacksonville and will start at 10 a.m. 
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

• The matches Saturday and Sunday will both begin at 10 a.m. Doubles will be played first before singles in both contests. 
• Live scoring during both matches can be accessed by clicking here. The same link will be used for both matches and will be reset prior to the start of each.
• Updates throughout both matches will be provided by the program’s Twitter and Instagram accounts, @ElonWTennis. 

 
THE MATCHUP

• Elon leads the series against Georgia Southern 7-5 and has won the last five meetings. 
• In the last meeting between the teams, Elon defeated the Eagles 7-0 on March 1, 2014. 
• Elon has faced Georgia Southern at a neutral site just once before at the 2004 Southern Conference Tournament. 
• Former Southern Conference foes, the Phoenix and Eagles faced each other every season from 2004-14 but have not met since Elon joined the CAA prior to its 2015 spring campaign.
• Sunday will mark the first ever meeting between Elon and North Florida. 

 
ABOUT THE PHOENIX

• Elon is coming off a 16-7 season that included a trip to the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. 
• The Phoenix returns five players from last year’s squad, headlined by Sibel Tanik and Lizette Reding, who both earned All-CAA honors in singles and doubles last season. Tanik and Reding formed a dynamic doubles duo, going 12-6 in the No. 1 position, and combined for 24 singles victories in the top three spots. 
• Also returning for the Phoenix are sophomores Helen Sarikulaya and Madison Cordisco. Sarikulaya won 12 doubles and 11 singles matches last season and earned two CAA Doubles Team of the Week honors. Cordisco also reached double-digit wins in doubles, earning 11 victories playing the Nos. 2 and 3 spots. 
• Miray Konar is also back for her second season with the Phoenix. Konar went 8-1 in 2022 playing Nos. 5 and 6 singles and added nine doubles victories. 
• New to the Phoenix this season are freshmen Simone Bergeron, Ella Suk and Mariana Reding, the younger sister of Lizette Reding. 
• Elon is led by head coach Elizabeth Anderson, who is in her 20^th season at the helm of the program. 

 
LAST TIME OUT

• Elon picked up its first victory of the season on Jan. 19, a 5-2 triumph over Longwood at Piedmont Indoor Tennis in Greensboro.
• The Phoenix delivered three strong performances to win its first doubles point of the season. Sibel Tanik and Lizette Reding won 6-1 at the No. 1 spot, Madison Cordisco and Mariana Reding notched a 6-4 victory at No. 2 doubles and Miray Konar clinched the point alongside Ella Suk on Court 3. 
• Coming off her first career doubles victory earlier in the match, Mariana Reding rolled to the first singles win of her career at No. 5 singles, losing just four games in a 6-3, 6-1 decision against Longwood’s Karina Rizvanova.
• Shortly after Mariana’s win, her older sister Lizette put the Phoenix up 3-0 with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 2 singles against Oriana Izarra. It was the sixth time Lizette has dropped one or fewer games in a victory. 
• Suk joined Mariana Reding by adding her first career singles win to go along with her first career doubles victory, as the freshman won 6-3, 6-0 on Court 6 against Nina Hederich to move the Phoenix ahead 4-0. 
• Playing on her birthday, Tanik won the second 6-3 to send the contest into a match tiebreak. Tanik went on to win the breaker 10-7 for her first victory of the season and the 40^th of her Elon career. It was also Tanik’s eighth win at Elon from a set down and her fourth in a match tiebreak. 
• The win was Elon’s first of the season and fifth straight against the Lancers.

 
CAA WEEKLY HONORS SWEEP

• On Tuesday, Lizette Reding was tabbed as the CAA Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Reding lost just one game on her way to earning her 40^th career singles victory at the No. 2 spot against Longwood. 
• Reding also earned CAA Doubles Team of the Week honors with partner Sibel Tanik, as Elon’s No. 1 tandem rolled to a 6-1 win against Longwood to help secure the doubles point. The duo has won 25 matches together over the last three seasons and both players are top 15 all-time in career doubles victories in Elon’s Division I history. 
• This was the fourth time in the last two seasons that Reding and Tanik have been selected as the CAA Doubles Team of the Week. 

 
FANTASTIC FRESHMEN

• This is the first time since the 2018-19 season Elon has three freshmen on its roster. 
• In Elon’s first tournament of the fall season, Ella Suk won her singles flight by picking up three victories at the Elon Fall Invitational. Suk went 8-3 in singles in the fall and was also part of six doubles wins. 
• Simone Bergeron also had a stellar fall debut with the maroon and gold, racking up 12 wins across singles and doubles. 
• After missing Elon’s first fall tournament, Mariana Reding starred for the Phoenix in its next three events, winning eight matches, including five at the Liberty Invitational. 
• Suk and Reding both picked up their first career dual wins in doubles and singles against Longwood. Reding won at No. 2 doubles and No. 5 singles while Suk was victorious at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. Reding was the first Elon player to finish in singles while Suk’s doubles win secured the doubles point for the Phoenix. 

 
SISTERLY LOVE

• Freshman Mariana Reding joins her older sister Lizette, a senior, on the Phoenix roster this season. 
• Lizette has won double-digit matches in both singles and doubles in each of her first three seasons with the maroon and gold. 
• Lizette enters her final season ranked No. 12 all-time in doubles victories at Elon, while her 40 singles wins have her on the doorstep of cracking Elon’s top 15 winners. 
• In all three of her three seasons with the Phoenix, Reding has been an All-CAA performer in both singles and doubles. She was also selected as the 2020-21 CAA Rookie of the Year and was Elon’s MVP for the 2020-21 campaign. 
• This fall, Lizette became Elon’s first ever player to reach the quarterfinals of the main singles draw at ITA Carolina Regionals. She also made it to the quarterfinals of the event in doubles with partner Sibel Tanik, as the duo became Elon’s first to advance that far in the main draw. 
• Read more about the Redings’ journey from Leon, Mexico, to Elon and their relationship by clicking here. 

 
TERRIFIC TANIK

• Entering her fifth year of college tennis and fourth at Elon, Sibel Tanik is up to 44 career singles victories, 40 of which have come with the maroon and gold.  
• All of Tanik’s victories at Elon have come at either the No. 1 or No. 2 position, including 28 at the top spot. 
• Tanik has also registered 36 doubles wins since joining the Phoenix, the 13th most in Elon’s Division I history. In the last two seasons, Tanik has paired with Lizette Reding for 25 victories at the No. 1 position. 
• Last season, Tanik earned two CAA Player of the Week awards and was named to the All-CAA Second Team for doubles and Third Team for singles. 
• In all three of her years at Elon, Tanik has registered double-digit victories in both singles and doubles. She has also been All-CAA in both singles and doubles each of the last two seasons. 

 
STANDOUT SOPHOMORES

• Back for their sophomore seasons with the Phoenix are Madison Cordisco and Helen Sarikulaya, both of whom were key contributors last year. 
• In her debut season with the maroon and gold, Sarikulaya won 12 doubles matches and was part of two CAA Doubles Team of the Week selections. She also won 11 singles contests playing the Nos. 2-4 spots. 
• Sarikulaya went 5-1 last season at No. 3 singles, while her other six wins came at the Nos. 2 and 4 spots. The freshman clinched wins for the Phoenix against Campbell and UNC Greensboro with victories in the No. 3 position.   
• Cordisco was selected to the All-CAA Second Team for doubles after going 11-5 on the season with Julie Ball and Sarikulaya as partners. She added four singles victories at the No. 2 position in 11 appearances.  
• Sarikulaya was one of two Elon players to qualify for the main singles draw at October’s ITA Carolina Regionals. She won a pair of matches in the qualifying draw to advance into the main draw. 
• Click here to read Sarikulaya’s thoughts on the upcoming season, courtesy of Rising Phoenix’s season preview. 

 
KONAR RETURNS

• Miray Konar is in her second year with the Phoenix after transferring to the program from Western Carolina.  
• The junior from Izmir, Turkey, was tabbed as Elon’s Most Improved Player for the 2022-23 campaign after playing an important role in Elon’s singles and doubles lineups.
• Konar won eight of her nine completed singles contests last season, with the lone loss coming in Elon’s final match of the season. 
• In her last six singles victories, Konar won in straight sets. She had a 17-5 record in singles sets last spring.  
• In doubles, Konar posted nine wins and earned CAA Doubles Team of the Week on two occasions, both with partner Helen Sarikulaya.  

 
THE ANDERSON ERA

• Head coach Elizabeth Anderson is entering her 20th season leading the maroon and gold. 
• Anderson has turned Elon into a consistent winner. Under her guidance, the Phoenix has posted 17 consecutive winning seasons, all of which have included double-digit victories. 
• In Elon’s final season in the Southern Conference, Anderson led the maroon and gold to the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth in 2013. The Phoenix won its first Southern Conference championship that season to qualify. 
• Since joining the CAA in 2014-15 season, Elon has won at least one match in all eight of its CAA Tournament appearances. Anderson led the program to the CAA championship match for the first time in 2022. 
• Since taking over as head coach in 2005, Anderson has tallied 276 victories at Elon. Her winning percentage is 61% in 450 career matches. 
• During Anderson’s time at Elon, she has had a total of 51 all-conference selections, four freshmen of the year award winners, one conference player of the year and a conference tournament most outstanding performer.
• Anderson was named CAA Coach of the Year in 2016 after leading Elon to a 14-win season and a berth in the CAA semifinals. 
• Elon has also been a strong performer in the classroom during Anderson’s tenure. The program has earned All-ITA Academic Team honors in 18 consecutive seasons. 
• Anderson and the Phoenix welcome first-year assistant coach Sean Foster for the 2023-24 season. 

 
MEET THE CAPTAINS: ELON’S DYNAMIC DUO

• Elon’s two seniors – Lizette Reding and Sibel Tanik – were selected as team captains for the 2023-24 season. 
• Reding and Tanik have been Elon’s signature doubles tandem the last three seasons, as they have paired up for 25 victories at the No. 1 position. 
• In the each of the last two seasons, Reding and Tanik have earned All-CAA honors in doubles while playing together. Both players have also been All-CAA in singles each of the last two years. 
• To learn more about Elon’s captains courtesy of Rising Phoenix, click here. 

 
SINGLES DOMINANCE

• Elon went 79-39 in completed singles matches last season, amounting to a winning percentage of 67%. 
• The Phoenix registered double-digit victories and a winning record at all six singles positions last season.
• Five Elon players reached double-digit singles wins a season ago – Olivia Archer (18), Sibel Tanik (12), Julie Ball (12), Lizette Reding (12) and Helen Sarikulaya (11). 
• The Phoenix swept singles in four matches last season and won at least five singles contests on eight occasions. 

 
HOME SWEET HOME

• Elon is off to a 1-0 start at home in 2024 after winning its home opener against Longwood at Piedmont Indoor Tennis in Greensboro. 
• The Phoenix finished last year’s regular season with an 11-2 record in home matches, which included a 7-1 mark at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. 
• Elon also went 2-1 last season at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center and 2-0 at the Simkins Indoor Tennis Center. 
• Elon won 36 of its 46 completed singles matches in its eight contests at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center last season. 
• The Phoenix went 15-3 in completed doubles matches at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center last season. 
• Since its first season in the CAA in 2014, Elon has an 89-24 record and 79% winning percentage in home matches. 

 
ELON TO HOST THE 2024 CAA TOURNAMENT

• For the sixth time, Elon will host the CAA Tournament from April 24-28 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
• With the addition to Campbell to the conference this season, this will be the first CAA Tournament to feature 13 teams. 
• Elon last hosted the tournament in 2022 when it reached the league’s championship match for the first time. 
• Five of the last seven completed CAA Tournaments have been hosted by Elon. William & Mary won four of those while James Madison took the other. 

 
SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN

• Georgia Southern is off to a 2-0 start this season after road victories against Stetson and Bethune-Cookman.
• The Eagles clipped Stetson 4-3 on Jan. 20 before sweeping Bethune-Cookman 7-0 on Jan. 21.
• Georgia Southern will face North Florida on Friday before playing the Phoenix on Saturday. 
• Silvia Martinez has won both her matches at No. 1 singles this season. The senior won 19 singles contests a season ago. 
• Eight Eagles players have delivered a singles victory this season, with Martinez being the only one to win multiple matches. 
• The Eagles have won five of six doubles decisions in their first two matches. 
• Sean McCaffrey is in his seventh year as Georgia Southern’s head coach. The Eagles have posted six straight winning seasons under his tenure and achieved their first ever ITA ranking as a team last season when they reached No. 74. 

 
SCOUTING NORTH FLORIDA

• The Ospreys are also 2-0 entering their Friday showdown with Georgia Southern.
• North Florida opened its season with a 5-2 road victory against Incarnate Word on Jan. 19 before defeating Texas State 6-1 on Jan. 20. 
• Annabelle Davis, Amy Kaplan and Alisa Lyshko have all started the season 2-0 in singles. Davis has played No. 1 singles to start the season, with Kaplan playing at the No. 2 spot and Lyshko at No. 5
• In doubles, Anslee Long and Kendall Nash are off to a 2-0 start this season playing the No. 2 position. Davis and Kaplan have also teamed up for a victory. 
• The Ospreys are led by fifth-year head coach Catherine Dunagan, who guided the program to an 18-win season and both the Atlantic Sun Tournament and regular season titles in 2023. 

 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix returns home for its first match of the season at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center against South Carolina State on Feb. 9. The contest is slated for a 2 p.m. start. 
 

–ELON–