Page 28
NCAA
April 22, 1999
Tennis sends message to Big South competition
Both teams close out successful seasons with final match vs. High Point today
Elon tennis has sent a mes
sage to the rest of the Big South.
It’s clear, audible, easy to spot
and spelled out in plain English.
Actually, it’s probably spelled
out in English, Dutch, German, Thai
and Spanish.
In English, it
would probably say
something like “Hey,
Troy Adams
The Pendulum.
troy.adams5@gte.net
we’ve only been here
a short time, watch
us come and kick
your behind,”
Take that message, put it on a
billboard with bright, neon-yellow
background for all to notice, spell it
in all the languages and place it up
closest match all season from a Big
South foe other than Winthrop was
a 7-2 win against Radford.
“We’ve worked really hard
together as a team,” sophomore
transfer Sarah Benhaim said. “It’s
not because of one
person. Even the
people who didn’t
play, they cheered and
that’s really important
I think.”
Benhaim and
her doubles counter
part, Imre Kwast,
have both been a part
of big-time competi
tion at N.C. State and
the University of
South Carolina where they trans
ferred from.
That experience and big-
school mentality have shown
// //
I think we've already sent a message.
Julianne Treme
in front of every Big South school.
1999-2000 will be the year,
heck the decade, century and
millenium of the Fightin’ Christian
as Elon whoops up on Big South
opponents in its first year of fully
eligible Division I status.
' “I think we’ve already sent a
message,” sophomore Julianne
Treme said.
“We’re looking to go in and
beat High Point 9-0 and send a
message for next year that every
body should watch out.”
The women (16-3) defeated
every Big South opponent this
year except for High
Point, who the Fightin’
Christians only lost to
by one, 5-4.
With the Big^
South Conference
Tournament held at Elon
from today through Sunday, it
is a prime opportunity for Elon to
showcase its talents for all the Big
South.
Elon beat High Point handily
in the first matchup between the
two, 8-1. Actually, Elon beat all its
Big South opponents handily. The
through and rubbed off on their
teammates.
On April 12, the women took
down East Carolina, 5-4.
Julianne Treme and
Jenny Thigpen
notched the
match with a
9-7 win in
No. 2
doubles.
This
was
after the
pair fell behind
7-4.
“Ijustknewwehad
to do it,” Treme said. “I
started getting nervous at 7-7.
Both teams were crowding the
court at that point and cheering
at every point emotionally.
“It was like the Final
Four for us. Some seniors and
juniors have lost to them for]
two and three years. They (ECU)"
are just so obnoxious. I’ve never
seen a team pull together like that.
It was the greatest win we’ve ever
had.”
After the victory, the team
threw their rackets in the air, cel
ebrating the emotional victory.
“Our doubles teams work re
ally good together,” Benhaim said.
“I ’ ve never had such a good doubles
partner (Kwast, 13-2 doubles
record) that fit so good together.
Everybody else is like that.”
They sure are. Combined the
women’s tennis team is 75-8 in
singles play and 36-9 in doubles
play. Benhaim and Kwast have en
joyed and benefitted from their
transfer to Elon. And the team has
benefitted from them as well.
“We were (at big schools),
we saw really big programs,”
Benhaim said. “You can really beat
everybody if you really work to
gether as a team.”
The men meanwhile, also
handed ECU a loss on the same day.
They want to avenge an ear
lier loss to High Point in the season
though, at the confer-
e n c e tournament.
“We
feel we can
beat them,”
No. 1
singles player
Remy Nagel said,
pp ‘Now we are playing
better.
“In the end of the
season, we are playing
much better than in the
beginning. We’ve ad
justed better. I like to
play better in the end.
We all have a good feel
ing to end the season.”
The men are
10-7 on the sea
son, with big
wins against
U N C -
Wilmington, UNC-
Asheville, Liberty,
Radford and ECU.
The men have also ben
efitted from strong doubles
play to complement singles
play. The doubles team of
Nagel and Chai Navawongse is 12-
4, as is the team of Andreas Moll
and Adriano Blacutt.
“We pair up pretty well,”
Blacutt said. “We complement each
other on the court.
Moll and Blacutt got a big
doubles in against ECU to add to
that 6-1 win.
“We felt the pressure the
whole time,” Blacutt said, “but
we’ve learned how to deal with
that.”
The men’s team has domi
nated in its wins. Only two of the 10
teams Elon has defeated have scored
more than one point.
“I feel we can beat every
team,” Nagel said. “Just beat them
no matter where they are from.”
The Fightin’ Christians are
doing this. They are beating on their
opponents worse than a WWF
grudge match, worse than a MTV
celebrity deathmatch, worse than a
Reggie White tackle. Elon could
whip up some eggs with the beat
ing they’ve done to its opponents.
And there is no stoppage in
site. The women lose valuable tal
ent in Sarah Collins (No. 5 singles,
14-2) and Ashley Lane. The men
graduate no one, but will lose
Andreas Moll, as he transfers back
to Germany.
Either way, Elon will be giv
ing a farewell party today through
Sunday at the Big South champi
onships: A farewell to friends and
teammates, Division I... and the
soon-to-be competition.
Baseball beats No. 21 East Carolina 4-3 in 12
innings. Story page 27. Emily MacDonnell/T/ie Pendulum
This Week in
Elon Athletics...
^ Come and Support Your
Fightin^ Christians!
Elon Softball
4/24 vs. Winthrop @ 1:00
4/25 vs. N.C. A&T (season
finale) @ 2:30
Elon Baseball
4/27 vs. Appalachian State
(home finale) @ 3:00
Men’s and
Women’s Tennis
Today - Sunday, 4/24
sBig South Conf Tourney
All Day