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 (14-9, 3-3)
Elon at Wake Forest, Tuesday, March 25, at 6 p.m., Winston-Salem, N.C.
Elon vs. Wake Forest, Wednesday, March 26, at 6 p.m., Latham Park
Elon vs. The Citadel, Friday-Sunday, March 28-30, at 6/4/1:30 p.m., Latham Park
• Junior Casey Jones recorded hits in all three of Elon’s games last week to run his hitting streak to a career-best nine games.
• Junior right-hander Lucas Bakker collected his second straight SoCon Pitcher of the Week honor last week. On Friday night, he tossed 7.2 innings without allowing an earned run in win over Western Carolina. Bakker has not allowed an earned run in his last 26.0 innings.
• Elon is scheduled to play five games this week, including four at home at Latham Park. The Phoenix will play at Wake Forest on Tuesday before hosting the Demon Deacons on Wednesday. The maroon and gold will finish the week by hosting The Citadel in its third straight league series at home.
Men’s Golf
Elon at Furman Intercollegiate, March 28-30, Greenville, S.C.
• The Phoenix will play its next-to-last event before the SoCon Championship this weekend by visiting Greenville, S.C., for the Furman Intercollegiate.
• In its last tournament, Elon placed ninth out of 13 teams at the rain-shortened Seahawk Intercollegiate.
• Pacing the Phoenix in its last event was Stuart Kaufman who tied for 13th out of 78 players with a two-round score of 145 (71-74).
Men’s Tennis (11-3, 4-0)
Elon at Georgia Southern, Tuesday, March 25, at 2:30 p.m., Statesboro, Ga.
• With a seven-match winning streak in tow, the Phoenix look to continue the streak Tuesday afternoon in Statesboro, Ga., against the Georgia Southern Eagles.
• Starting a streak of six straight conference matches, the Phoenix defeated The Citadel yesterday, March 23, in Charleston, S.C. With the 7-0 sweep, Elon has now swept three of its four Southern Conference matches.
• Through the early portion of the SoCon season, four of the five Player of the Week honors have gone to Elon players. Cameron Silverman was the first to earn the award on Feb. 18. He was followed by Jordan Kaufman on March 4. Stefan Fortmann has won thw last two awards on March 11 and 18.
• Elon is currently ranked No. 39 in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The mark is a program-best for the Phoenix since joining Division I in 2000. New rankings will be released tomorrow, March 25.
Softball (16-12-1, 1-5)
Elon at NC State, Wednesday, March 26, at 6 p.m., Raleigh, N.C.
Elon vs. North Carolina, Thursday, March 27, at 5:30 p.m., Hunt Softball Park
Elon vs. Furman, Saturday-Sunday, March 29-30, at 1/3/1 p.m., Hunt Softball Park
• The Phoenix plays a couple of back-to-back contests against in-state rivals and Atlantic Coast Conference foes in NC State and North Carolina this Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The maroon and gold will be welcoming the Tar Heels to Hunt Softball Park for the first time on Thursday.
• Senior Carleigh Nester became the program’s all-time leader in RBI with her 126th in the Phoenix road contest at Georgia Southern on Sunday, March 23. She also belted her 200th career hit against the Eagles during the weekend series and is two home runs shy of tying All-American Tomeka Watson’s school record of 34 career home runs.
• Elon welcomes Furman for a Southern Conference weekend series beginning on Saturday in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. at Hunt Softball Park.
Women’s Golf
Elon at John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate, March 30-April 1, Stockbridge, Ga.
• In its last event, the Elon women claimed its first team title since September 2010 as the Phoenix placed first out of 16 squads a the JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational.
• The duo of Emily Brooks and Kathryn Buckingham paced the Phoenix by tying for eighth out of the 93 participants.
• Elon will now head to Georgia for the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate hosted by Georgia State. It is one of the last two tournaments for the team before the SoCon Championship.
Women’s Lacrosse (4-6, 1-0)
Elon vs. Presbyterian, Friday, March 28, at 6 p.m., Rhodes Stadium
Elon at High Point, Sunday, March 30, at 2 p.m., High Point, N.C.
• The Phoenix extended its home record to a perfect 3-0 last week with a 15-4 win over Longwood in Rhodes Stadium. Anna Vitton scored four goals and had one assist in the game, while Sloane Kessler netted three goals and finished with two assists to lead Elon.
• Elon will look to rebound from a loss at Davidson on Saturday with two games this week against Big South opponents in Presbyterian and High Point. The maroon and gold hosts the Blue Hose on Friday before visiting the Panthers Sunday.
• Vitton, Kessler and Olivia Fernandez led the Phoenix last week with six points each. Fernandez netted six goals on the week, while Vitton posted five goals and an assist and Kessler finished with four goals and two assists.
Women’s Track and Field
Elon at Raleigh Relays , Friday-Saturday, March 28-29, Raleigh, N.C.
• The Phoenix women’s track and field team travels to compete at the Raleigh Relays on the campus of NC State beginning on Friday, March 28.
• Elon had members of its distance team compete at the Wake Forest Open last weekend. Senior Allyson Oram (1,500-meters) and sophomore Tereza Novotna (3,000-meter steeplechase) both won their respective events while freshman Kimberly Johansen was third overall in the 1,500-meters.
• Sophomore Jennifer Esposito was named the Southern Conference’s Track Athlete of the Week last Wednesday, March 19. The Mansfield, Mass., native won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:01.38 at the UNC Wilmington Seahawk Invitational on March 15. She also helped the women’s 4×400-meter relay team to a second place standing at the meet with an overall time of 3:52.51.