By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
This might be a good time for Elon to venture into the Colonial Athletic Association portion of the football schedule.
“The biggest is being 2-1. You’ve got to do that in your non-conference schedule,” coach Tony Trisciani said. “It sets yourself up to be in position. If you have a winning record in the CAA and you win your non-conference games, you’ve got a really good chance of going to the postseason.”
Elon visits William & Mary (3-0) for Saturday’s game. The Tribe won 34-31 last year at Elon, while William & Mary claimed a five-overtime decision in 2019.
“We’ve had some really close matchups with them,” Trisciani said. “This is a great one for us to get CAA play started.”
Elon overcame Gardner-Webb to win 30-24 in the home opener Saturday night at Rhodes Stadium.
“It was a big fat ‘W’ and those are hard to get right now in college football,” Trisciani said.
That game included 168 rushing yards from Jalen Hampton. The running back’s 34 carries were the most for an Elon player since Eastern Alamance alum Malcolm Summers rushed 39 times in a 6-0 win against Albany on Sept. 30, 2017.
Defensively, Williams High School product Torrence Williams notched 1½ tackles for loss.
Combined with the loss at Vanderbilt and a shutout victory at Wofford, it has been a nice mix for the Phoenix.
“All those experiences are valuable,” Trisciani said. “I’ve seen growth in our team from those three games. We’ve been exposed to some different offenses.”
A part of history
A pair of weekend women’s volleyball matches had historic overtones as Elon and North Carolina A&T met for the first time as conference members.
N.C. A&T became a Colonial Athletic Association member this school year. Particularly after Elon joined the Division I level, the schools have faced off in numerous non-conference competitions, so now there are different vibes for their clashes.
Elon topped the Aggies 25-22, 25-20, 18-25, 22-25, 15-8 on Saturday at N.C. A&T’s Moore Gym. The Phoenix (4-7) returned and won in four sets (25-17, 25-20, 19-25, 26-24) Sunday for a two-match sweep.
The Aggies don’t have men’s or women’s soccer teams, so that limits matchups this fall between the schools. In football, N.C. A&T is remaining as a Big South Conference member for this season before embarking on a CAA schedule in 2023.
Elon women win golf tourney
Elon won the Elon Invitational for women’s golf Monday and Tuesday at Alamance Country Club, aided by a first-place finish from freshman Ashley Lafontaine.
After an opening-round 75, Lafontaine shot consecutive 68s for the one-shot victory at 2-under-par 211. Elon’s team posted a three-round total of 850 for a 25-shot edge on runner-up William & Mary in the 11-team field. UNC Greensboro was third at 879.
It was the second tournament championship in a row for the Phoenix, which won the William & Mary Fall Invitational a week earlier at Kingsmill Resort River Course in Williamsburg, Va.
