Opponent:
Salem at Elon | March 8 | Elon, N.C. | Jimmy Powell Tennis Center | 7 p.m.
SALEM HEADS TO ELON FOR FIRST-EVER MEETING WITH PHOENIX
The Salem tennis team will compete in its first of four road matches in March when the Spirits face their second-ever NCAA Division I program on Friday, March 8th. The Spirits will clash with Elon at 7 p.m. at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
SECOND-EVER NCAA DIVISION I OPPONENT IN SALEM HISTORY
Friday will mark the second time in Salem tennis history that the Spirits have faced an NCAA Division I opponent.
The first was N.C. A&T, who defeated Salem by a 7-2 margin on March 21, 2014. In that match, Andrea Akers earned a 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (7) win from the No. 1 seed against Kenya Colbert. The Spirits also earned a point by virtue of a doubles forfeit.
SALEM TENNIS FACES SWEET BRIAR IN HOME OPENER
Abrielle Eckenroth claimed two points, including the lone singles victory for Salem, who suffered a 7-2 setback in their home opener at the Bert Lain Tennis Center against Sweet Briar in non-conference action on Sunday, February 25th.
Eckenroth paired with Cadence Durham in No. 3 doubles to take down the Sweet Briar tandem of Isabela Guilarte and Molly Booth by a score of 8-5. Atty Bestwick and Guusje van Eekelen claimed the first point of the match for the Vixens, 8-1, by defeating Alana Bridges and Emily Griffis.
Sweet Briar established a 2-0 lead in doubles after the pairing of Ana Patino and Alex Guilarte earned an 8-1 victory over Mariana Faint and Adley Keim in No. 1 doubles.
Maggie Minton earned the third point of the afternoon for the Vixens, first in singles, with a 6-1, 6-0 decision over Griffis in the clash of No. 4 pairings. Meanwhile, Lucia Bovard moved Sweet Briar within one point of the team victory with a 6-0, 6-0 win against Bridges in No. 5 singles.
Isadora Lima triumphed over Durham in No. 3 singles by scores of 6-1, 6-1, to deliver the Vixens to their third team victory of the campaign. Isabela Guilarte followed with a 6-1, 6-2 win against Keim as the two tangled in No. 1 singles.
Maria Caro posted the seventh point of the match for the Vixens as she triumphed over Faint by margins of 6-1, 6-3. Salem closed out the match on a positive note with Eckenroth's 6-4, 5-7, 10-7 victory over Avery Jones in No. 6 singles.
SALEM OPENS 2024 SPRING SLATE WITH DECISIVE WIN AT FERRUM
The Salem tennis team claimed its seventh straight win and second all-time shutout against Ferrum when the Spirits posted a 9-0 win at Ferrum on Tuesday afternoon.
Making just its second trip to Ferrum in program history, Salem got off to a great start with an 8-0 win in No. 3 doubles as the tandem of Alyx Diggs and Abrielle Eckenroth downed Emily Walker and Marcella Hatcher. The lead moved to 2-0 for Salem as the No. 1 singles pairing of Mariana Faint and Adley Keim posted an 8-3 win over Ferrum's Hannah Huffman and Gabby Mendoza.
Salem completed the doubles sweep as the second-seeded tandem of Emily Griffis and Alana Bridges fought past Morgan Hundley and Mary Mason to earn the 9-8 (7-3) victory.
Bridges kept the Panthers without a point in the match as she stretched the Salem lead to 4-0 in No. 5 singles by posting a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Walker. Eckenroth followed with the match-winning point at the No. 6 singles spot, downing Hatcher by scores of 6-0, 6-0.
Diggs continued the straight set trend with a pair of 6-0, 6-0 wins over Mason in No. 4 singles as the Spirits owned a 6-0 lead. Faint picked up a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Huffman in No. 2 singles, while Keim added the eighth point for the Spirits with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph against Hundley in the clash of No. 1 seeds.
Griffis completed a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Mendoza in No. 3 singles action, helping the Spirits win every singles match in two-set fashion.
WHAT THE SPIRITS ACCOMPLISHED IN THE FALL SEASON
Salem concluded the 2023 fall season with a win over Guilford (7-2), while three the trio of Adley Keim (3-0), Cadence Durham (2-1) and Mariana Faint (2-1) earned two individual wins apiece.
The five-point win over the Quakers marked the first time since the 2018 season that Salem opened the season with a victory. The Spirits last opened the season with a win on September 29, 2018 when they downed Hollins by a 9-0 margin.
All three of Keim's victories came in the No. 1 singles position, while Faint picked up both wins in the fall season as the No. 2 singles player. Durham led the way for the Spirits in the No. 3 position with two triumphs of her own.
Faint and Keim paired up in No. 1 doubles to win all three matches in the fall slate, while Durham teamed with Alyx Diggs to notch one win in No. 3 doubles.
HOW ELON ENTERS THE MATCH AT SALEM
Elon enters Friday's match with an 8-4 record after winning its last seven straight matches.
The Phoenix began their winning streak with a 7-0 victory over Norfolk State on February 10th and followed with victories over Gardner-Webb (6-1), Shaw (7-0), Hampton (4-0) and Appalachian State (4-3) to close out February.
The streak reached six victories with a 6-1 triumph over Davidson on March 2nd and was extended to seven after a decisive 7-0 win against Fairfield on March 5th.
Elon's other win came over Longwood on January 19th as the Phoenix came away with a 5-2 win.
The first setback of the slate came to No. 1 North Carolina, who posted a 7-0 victory on January 13th. January also saw the Phoenix suffer losses to Georgia Southern (4-0) and North Florida on January 27th and 28th, respectively. The last loss came at the hands of South Carolina State (4-2) on February 9th.
Mariana Reding is tops among individuals with nine wins, posting four as both the No. 3 and No. 5 seeds. The trio of Lizette Reding, Helen Sarikulaya and Ella Suk are tied with seven individual wins apiece.
Mariana Reding has paired with Madison Cordisco for seven wins, all in No. 2 doubles, while Suk and Simone Bergeron have delivered seven wins in No. 3 doubles to lead the Phoenix in doubles victories.