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.
Baseball (26-21, 12-12)
Elon vs. North Carolina, Wednesday, May 7, at 6:30 p.m., Latham Park
Elon at Furman, Friday-Sunday, May 9-13, at 6 / 12 / 1 p.m., Greenville, South Carolina
• Elon junior outfielder Quinn Bower was honored as a member of the Capital One Academic All-District 3 Team last week for his performance both in the classroom and on the field. Bower, who sports a 3.86 GPA as a finance major, is now eligible to earn Academic All-America accolades.
• The Phoenix will play its final home game of the 2014 season on Wednesday evening by hosting the North Carolina Tar Heels. Elon will be meeting UNC for the second time this season. The Tar Heels claimed a 5-4 victory over the Phoenix on April 16 in Chapel Hill.
• The maroon and gold will also play its last Southern Conference series this week as Elon visits Furman for a three-game series starting on Friday evening. Elon owns a 27-17 edge in the all-time series against the Paladins.
Men’s Tennis (19-4)
NCAA Tournament
#3 Elon vs. #2 Tennessee, Saturday, May 10, at 9 a.m., Durham, North Carolina
• Back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2007 season, Elon will take on the No. 2 seed in the Durham pod in Tennessee on Saturday, May 10, at 9 a.m. in Durham, North Carolina.
• Elon cruised to the Southern Conference Tournament title on April 19 in Chattanooga, Tenn., with a 4-1 victory over Furman to secure the SoCon’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
• Adding to the fun of being in the NCAA Tournament, volunteer assistant coach John Collins played for the Volunteers and graduated from Elon’s opponent just last year.
• Should the Phoenix top the Volunteers, they will take on the winner of No. 1 Duke/No. 4 Winthrop on Sunday with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. Elon beat both Duke and Winthrop this season already, both by the score of 4-3.
Softball (24-27-1)
Southern Conference Softball Championships
#8 Elon vs. #1 Georgia Southern, Wednesday, May 7, at 3 p.m., Greensboro, North Carolina
#8 Elon vs. TBD, Thursday, May 8, Greensboro, North Carolina
• The Phoenix opens the 2014 Southern Conference Softball Championships on Wednesday, May 7, with matchup against top-seeded Georgia Southern at 3 p.m.
• Elon’s Carleigh Nester became the program’s all-time leader in RBI when the Phoenix faced the Eagles earlier this season in Statesboro, Georgia, on March 23. Nester had six RBI total against the Eagles in the three-game series.
• Nester set a new single-season record with her 15th home run on Saturday, May 3, in the Phoenix’s game at UNCG. The Kernersville, North Carolina, native broke Tomeka Watson’s previous school record of 14 and has 42 RBI this season, the most in a single year since 2011.
• With a win over the Eagles, the Phoenix would play at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, versus the winner between fourth-seeded Samford and fifth-seeded and host UNCG. A loss on Wednesday moves Elon to the 11:30 a.m. slot versus the loser between the Bulldogs and Spartans.
Women’s Tennis (15-8)
NCAA Tournament
#4 Elon vs. #1 Georgia, Friday, May 9 at 4 p.m., Athens, Georgia
• Elon will make its NCAA Tournament debut this week when the Phoenix travels to the tournament’s top-overall seed, the Georgia Bulldogs, in Athens.
• The women’s tennis team upset top-seeded Furman and second-seeded Samford in the semifinals and finals of the SoCon Tournament, respectively, on April 19 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to win its first championship of any kind since joining Division I in 2000.
• Should Elon advance, the Phoenix would take on the winner of No. 2 Arizona/No. 3 Florida State, who play the first match of the Athens pod before Elon takes on Georgia.
Women’s Track & Field
Elon at Virginia Challenge, Friday, May 9, Charlottesville, Virginia
Elon at North Carolina A&T Last Chance Meet, Sunday, May 11, Greensboro, North Carolina
• Select members of the Elon women’s track and field team will compete at the Virginia Challenge and North Carolina A&T Last Chance meets this weekend for a chance to improve its ranking on the NCAA Division I East Qualifying performance list.
• The Phoenix currently have five student-athletes that rank in the top-48 East Qualifying performance list in their respective events in Megan Kirschling (high jump, 16th), Bria Bell (400-meters, 31st), Jennifer Esposito (400-meter hurdles, 41st), Allyson Oram (10,000-meters, 42nd) and (Tereza Novotna (3,000-meter steeplechase, 47th). Sophomore Sydney Griffin also has a chance to jump into the top-48 as she sits in 49th in the 100-meter hurdles.
• The NCAA East Preliminaries will begin on May 29-31, in Jacksonville, Florida for any athlete that qualifies the top-48 in their respective event.