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 NCAA Cross Country Championships, Saturday, Nov. 22, at 1 p.m., Terra Haute, Ind.
• Elon men’s cross country senior Luis Vargas will compete at the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 22, in Terra Haute, Ind. The men’s race is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
• Vargas became Elon’s first-ever NCAA Regional Champion with his first-place finish at the Southeast Region meet this past Friday. Vargas clocked in a time of 30:05.8 to win his sixth race in as many tries this season. He heads into the meet as the only Division I men’s runner that’s undefeated in races this season.
• The Phoenix women had its highest finish ever at the Southeast Region meet with an eighth-place standing, improving one spot from last year’s results. Elon beat other notable schools such as Wake Forest, Louisville, Kentucky, Clemson and South Carolina.
• Senior Tereza Novotna became the first female runner for Elon to earn All-Region honors at the meet after finishing 22nd overall. The Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, native, broke her own school-record in the women’s 6K race with a time of 20:54.2. Fellow senior Jenny Gallagher was the next Phoenix runner to cross the line for Elon with her new personal-best time of 21:02.63 – good for the second-fastest time in school history.
Football (1-10, 0-7 CAA)
Inside the Huddle Luncheon, Monday, Nov. 17, at 12 p.m., Best Western Plus
Elon Football Live Radio Show, Thursday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m., Fat Frogg Bar & Grill
Elon at James Madison, Saturday, Nov. 22, at 12 p.m., Williamsburg, Va. (American Sports Network)
• Over the past four games, Elon’s special teams units have blocked six total kicks (three punts, three field goals). From 2011-13, the maroon and gold rejected a total of five kicks. The Phoenix ranks sixth nationally and second in the CAA in blocked kicks.
• Six of Elon’s 11 games this season, including the each of the last three contests, have been decided by 10 points or less.
• The Phoenix will wrap up the 2014 season with a noon game at James Madison this Saturday. The game will air on the American Sports Network.
• Elon and JMU have played twice before. In both 1998 and 2001 Elon played at JMU. The Dukes won both previous meetings.
• The Phoenix returns home to Rhodes Stadium for the final time in 2014 this weekend as the maroon and gold welcomes in the Maine Black Bears for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday. Prior to kick, Elon will recognize its senior class.
• Fans can preview this weekend’s tilt with at James Madison at either the Inside the Huddle Luncheon on Monday or at the Elon Football Live Radio Show on Thursday. The luncheon is held from noon until 1 p.m. at the Best Western Plus on Huffman Mill Road in Burlington and the cost to attend is $10 and includes a catered lunch by Grill 584. The radio show is broadcast live from the Fat Frogg Bar & Grill in Elon on Thursday from 7-8 p.m. and can be heard live on WPCM 95.1 FM and 920 AM, as well as at elonphoenix.com
Men’s Basketball (1-1)
Elon at Northwestern, Saturday, Nov. 22, at 4 p.m., Evanston, Ill.
• Elon begins play in the Cancun Challenge on Saturday, Nov. 22, when it travels to Evanston, Ill., to take on the Northwestern Wildcats.
• Following its game at NU, the Phoenix travels to Cancun, Mexico, for two games on Nov. 25 and 26. Elon will face Morgan State on Nov. 25 before taking on North Florida or Liberty a day later. Elon wraps up the Cancun Challenge in Oxford, Ohio, on Nov. 30 versus Miami (Ohio).
• The Phoenix is off to a 1-1 start this season following a 64-58 win over Florida Atlantic on Nov. 14 and a 73-60 setback to Charlotte on Nov. 16. Elon’s next home game is Tuesday, Dec. 2, against Virginia University of Lynchburg.
Women’s Basketball (2-0)
Elon at Charlotte, Friday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m., Charlotte, N.C.
• The Phoenix opened the 2014-15 season with two wins over the weekend. Elon defeated Anderson, 77-72, on Friday night before a 60-56 win over Navy on Sunday.
• Sam Coffer scored in double figures in both games and averaged 13.5 points per game. Against Navy, the senior finished with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and tied a career-high four steals.
• Elon plays its first road game of the season when it travels to Charlotte for a game against the 49ers. Friday marks the seventh meeting between the two programs with Charlotte claiming the win in the last game in 2011, 89-58.
Women’s Track and Field
Elon at JDL November All-Comers, Saturday, Nov. 22, Winston-Salem, N.C.
• The Elon women’s track and field team opens its 2014-15 indoor season on Saturday, Nov. 22, with its only meet during the 2014 fall semester at the JDL All-Comers meet in Winston-Salem, N.C.
• Mark Elliston returns for his ninth season at the helm of the Phoenix program and his first with his new title as Elon’s Director of Track and Field/Cross Country. Under Elliston’s guidance, Elon has had nine NCAA East Preliminary qualifiers and 113 all-conference performers.
• Elliston welcomes two new members to his coaching staff. Nick Polk was brought on in August to become the Phoenix’s new head cross country coach, while working with distance harriers on track. Shannon Popp also joined the staff in August as the new throwing coach for the maroon and gold.