ELON, N.C. – Every Monday, Phoenix fans can get a look at the week ahead with our “Elon Athletics Weekly Update” feature when we will preview all the week’s upcoming events for our sports teams. “Follow us” on Twitter at @elonphoenix and @elonscores, “Like” Elon Phoenix on Facebook and continue to check elonphoenix.com to stay current on all things Elon Athletics.
Cross Country
Elon at Mountaineer Open, Friday, Oct. 4, Boone, N.C.
Elon at Greater Louisville Classic, Oct. 5, Louisville, Ky.
• The Elon cross country programs will race this weekend with a group competing on Friday, Oct. 4, at the Mountaineer Open in Boone, N.C. On Saturday, Oct. 5, selected members of both teams will run at the Greater Louisville Classic in Louisville, Ky.
• The Phoenix last competed at its home meet, the Elon Invitational, on Sept. 14. The maroon and gold men won the meet for the second consecutive year and had the top two individual runners in the 8K race with Luis Vargas (1st, 24:19) and Ben Perron (2nd, 25:29). The Phoenix women finished as the runner-up in the 5K race.
• Vargas was named the Southern Conference Men’s Runner of the Week on Sept. 18, for his performance at the Elon Invitational, where he was just four seconds shy of breaking his own school-record in the 8K. It was the second career league weekly accolade for Vargas and the first for either program since 2011.
• The women’s program stayed at No. 12 in the Southeast Regional rankings as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) last Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Football (1-4, 0-1 SoCon)
Inside the Huddle Luncheon, Monday, Sept. 30, at 12 p.m., Best Western Plus
Elon Football Live, Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m., The Fat Frogg
Elon at Furman, Saturday, Oct. 5, at 1:30 p.m., Greenville, S.C.
• Sophomore tight end Zach Dupree recorded the first catch of his career on Saturday against Coastal Carolina and it was a memorable one. Dupree’s first reception was a two-yard TD grab.
• Elon has been solid on fourth downs this season, converting six of seven fourth-down tries into first downs.
• The Phoenix will play the first of back-to-back games in the Upstate of South Carolina this weekend when it travels to Furman for a 1:30 p.m. game on Saturday. This will mark the 17th all-time meeting in the series. Elon has won four of the last five against the Paladins, including a 41-34 victory over #17 Furman the last time the teams met in Greenville, S.C.
Men’s Soccer (7-1-1)
Elon at Campbell, Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m., Buies Creek, N.C.
Elon vs. Appalachian State, Saturday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m., Rudd Field
• The Phoenix will travel to Campbell to face the Camels on Tuesday, Oct. 1, before returning home on Saturday, Oct. 5, to host Appalachian State in its Southern Conference opener.
• Elon went 2-0 last week to rebound from its first loss of the season against William & Mary the week prior. The Phoenix defeated Radford, 1-0, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, and earned a 4-1 road victory at High Point on Saturday, Sept. 28. The win against Radford was the program’s 300th and the 85th for head coach Darren Powell at Elon.
• The maroon and gold remained No. 23 in the latest College Soccer News poll and entered College Soccer America’s national rankings this past week at No. 25. The Phoenix was also receiving votes in the most recent NSCAA/Continental Tire National poll.
• Elon keeper Nathan Dean was tabbed the Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Player of the Week last Tuesday, Sept. 24. It was the second career SoCon weekly award for the Liverpool, England, native.
Men’s Tennis
ITA Men’s All-American Championships, Oct. 2-6, Tulsa, Okla.
• Elon’s Cameron Silverman and Stefan Fortmann travel to Tulsa, Okla., this week for the 2013 ITA Men’s All-American Championships.
• Silverman, ranked 34th nationally in singles, earned a spot in the main singles draw. Silverman and Stefan Fortmann also earned a spot in the main doubles draw. The duo ranks 16th nationally in doubles.
• Silverman remains unbeaten in singles play this fall at 8-0.
Volleyball (9-8, 1-1 SoCon)
Elon at UNCG, Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m., Greensboro, N.C.
Elon at Davidson, Friday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m., Davidson, N.C.
• The Phoenix opened up Southern Conference play last week 1-1 after falling at Georgia Southern, 3-1, but rebounding with a win at The Citadel, 3-2.
• At The Citadel, senior Cali Estes posted a triple-double after a career-high 15 kills, a career-high 14 digs and 14 assists.
• Freshman Kayla Agae led the maroon and gold last week with 28 kills to average 3.11 kills per set. Agae set a new career-high 14 kills at GSU before recording her first career-double-double at The Citadel with 14 kills and a career-high 16 digs.
• Elon continues SoCon play this week with a match on Wednesday at local rival UNCG before going down to Davidson, N.C., to face the Wildcats.
Women’s Soccer (6-1-3, 1-0-1 SoCon)
Elon at The Citadel, Friday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m., Charleston, S.C.
Elon at Francis Marion, Sunday, Oct. 6, at 2 p.m., Florence, S.C.
• Elon returns to action this week with a pair road matches at The Citadel (Oct. 4) and Francis Marion (Oct. 6).
• The Phoenix opened Southern Conference play last week, posting a 3-1 win vs. Western Carolina before battling Appalachian State to a 3-3 draw.
• Chelsey Stark and Jennifer McGorty both scored two goals last week against the Catamounts and Mountaineers. Elon has scored three or more goals in six of its 10 matches this season.
Women’s Golf
Elon at Starmount Forest Tournament, Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, Greensboro, N.C.
• Coming off of a second-place showing at the W&M Invitational, the Elon women’s golf team will participate in the 15-team Starmount Forest Tournament hosted by UNCG at the Starmount Country Club this week.
• Elon’s Sunna Vidisdottir earned medalist honors at the W&M Invitational with a three-round score of 215 (72-73-70), edging out Morehead State’s Anna Appert Lund by one stroke for the title.
• In her first collegiate tournament, freshman Kelsey Badmaev placed 10th at the W&M Invitational after carding a 222 (76-71-75).