Elon Women’s Tennis Rallies to Stun Davidson in Greensboro

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Trailing 3-0 in the match after dropping the doubles point and courts five and four at the start of singles, Elon University women’s tennis won four straight singles matches to come back and stun Davidson 4-3 on Sunday, Feb. 17, at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center.

RESULTS

The Phoenix (6-4) picked up singles victories from Maria Paraja, Uma Nayar, Olivia Archer and Suzanne Zenoni to earn the victory against the Wildcats (5-3). Zenoni’s epic three-set victory over Megan Scholvinck at the No. 1 position clinched the match and completed Elon’s come-from-behind win.

“Christian [Harris] and I are very proud of the team for coming back and beating a very strong Davidson team,” said head coach Elizabeth Anderson. “Maria [Paraja], Uma [Nayar] and Olivia [Archer] showed tremendous grit and heart. They fought very hard in their matches to put us in a position to win. Suzanne [Zenoni] was extremely persistent, showed resiliency, and was determined to win her match and clinch the victory. This is a great win for us and there’s a lot to learn from this result as we continue to move forward and improve this season.”

Additionally, Elon’s scheduled 3 p.m. match against Elizabeth City State University was canceled due to illness on the Vikings team. The Phoenix earned the win by default due to the forfeit. That match will not be made up.

HIGHLIGHTS
Davidson would take the early 1-0 lead in the match after claiming the doubles point. After Samantha Armas and Alexandra Abele earned a 6-1 victory on court two, Scholvinck and Elizabeth Truluck clinched the point for the Wildcats. Elon’s No. 3 duo of Archer and Zenoni won 6-4 against Gabrielle Centenari and Nicole Krykanov after the point was clinched.

In singles action, Davidson quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the match with wins on courts five and four, respectively. Truluck was the first to finish with a 6-2, 6-4 victory on court five. Armas then put the Wildcats in a position to win the match with a 7-5, 6-3 victory at No. 5 to put Davidson on top 3-0.

Undaunted, the Phoenix began to storm back in singles action, beginning on court two with Paraja’s match. The Gijon, Spain native overcame a tight 7-6 (7-4) opening set and cruised to a 6-2 victory against Centenari in the second to put the Phoenix on the board. Nayar was the next singles contest to finish at the No. 2. She too battled to overcome a tough first set and rolled in the second to earn a 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 win over Abele, cutting Davidson’s lead to 3-2 in the match.

Archer faced a tough challenge in her match at the No. 6 singles position after winning the first set 6-3. Despite going to a tiebreaker, Archer fought to earn the 7-6 (7-3) win in the second set, leveling the contest at 3-3 to set up Zenoni’s contest at No. 1 as the deciding match.

Zenoni showed grit in an epic three-set victory to clinch the victory. Her final set went to a tiebreaker and she overcame Scholvinck to earn a thrilling 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3) win on the top court to clinch Elon’s victory over the Wildcats.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix heads to Virginia for a pair of matches on Feb. 23 and 24. Elon will face Richmond on Friday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m., followed by VCU on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 11 a.m.

Elon 4, Davidson 3
Feb 17, 2019 at Greensboro, N.C. (Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center)

Singles competition
1. Suzanne Zenoni (ELON) def. Megan Scholvinck (DAV) 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3)
2. Maria Paraja (ELON) def. Gabrielle Centenari (DAV) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
3. Uma Nayar (ELON) def. Alexandra Abele (DAV) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
4. Samantha Armas (DAV) def. Alex Koniaev (ELON) 7-5, 6-3
5. Elizabeth Truluck (DAV) def. Nicole Shiau (ELON) 6-2, 6-4
6. Olivia Archer (ELON) def. Mira Gladstone (DAV) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)

Doubles competition
1. Megan Scholvinck/Elizabeth Truluck (DAV) def. Alex Koniaev/Maria Paraja (ELON) 6-4
2. Samantha Armas/Alexandra Abele (DAV) def. Uma Nayar/Nicole Shiau (ELON) 6-1
3. Olivia Archer/Suzanne Zenoni (ELON) def. Gabrielle Centenari/Nicole Krykanov (DAV) 6-4

Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,4,2,3,6,1)