May 7, 2015
The #24 Georgia Tech women’s tennis team (16-9) travels to Gainesville, Fla. to face #36 Wichita State (24-3) in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament on Friday at noon at the Ring Tennis Complex on the University of Florida’s campus.
Site Information | Live Stats | NCAA Bracket | Tech’s Tournament Notes
Sweet 16
This will be the 16th overall and 16th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance for the Yellow Jackets. Tech has advanced to the Sweet 16 seven times and won the 2007 national title. The NCAA Championships will begin May 14 in Waco, Texas at Baylor University.
The Yellow Jackets are 14-1 in first round matches in the NCAA Tournament and have won the past 13-straight first round matches.
Tech’s Path to the Tournament
Georgia Tech wrapped up the regular season, winning 11 out of 14 matches. and , both freshmen, were each named to the All-ACC Second Team. Hourigan is the #48-ranked singles player while Renaud checks in at #101. Hourigan and junior make up the nation’s 21st-ranked doubles duo
Most recently, the Yellow Jackets advanced to the ACC Tournament Championship match, where the #6-seed Jackets fell to #4-seed Virginia, 4-0. Georgia Tech defeated #14 seed NC State, 4-0, upset #3 seed Duke, 4-3, and edged #10 seed Florida State, 4-3, to advance to the finals. It was the Yellow Jackets’ fifth appearance in the tournament finals and first under head coach .
Series History
#36 Wichita State (24-3, 7-0 MVC)
Series: First meeting
This will be the first meeting in the history of the program between Georgia Tech and Wichita State. The Shockers went undefeated in Missouri Valley Conference play this season a 7-0 and own their seventh-straight MVC tournament title. This is Wichita State’s seventh-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Shockers went 4-3 against nationally ranked opponents this season.
Déjà vu
This will be the second time in three years that the Yellow Jackets travel to Gainesville for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2013, the Jackets made the trip, defeating #35 Yale, 4-3, and falling to number one seed and eventual national champion, Florida, 4-0.
A Look at the Gainesville Regional
Also in the Gainesville region are host Florida (21-3) and Bethune-Cookman (22-6). Florida enters the NCAA tournament ranked #5 and the tournaments overall five seed. Florida and Bethune-Cookman will play following Georgia Tech’s match on Friday at 3 p.m. Florida leads the overall series against Georgia Tech, 2-0, recording wins in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2013 and the Elite Eight in 2008 against the Yellow Jackets. The Yellow Jackets and Bethune-Cookman have never met in school history.
Hourigan, Woodard Earn NCAA Individual Bids
Freshman and junior are headed to the 2015 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships in Waco, Texas after earning at-large bids to the individual portion of the championships. Hourigan and Woodard have earned an at-large bid to play in the doubles bracket while Hourigan will also compete in the singles competition. Hourigan and Woodard are Tech’s 11th doubles team to earn a bid to the NCAA Doubles Championship, while Hourigan is the 21st Yellow Jacket to earn a bid to the singles championship and the first since earned one in 2012.
The #21-ranked pair of Hourigan and Woodard have been a force on court one for the Jackets this season, going 16-3 in the spring and recording an 8-1 record in conference play. Hourigan is the #48-ranked singles player in the nation and was an All-ACC Second Team honoree this season. The Turakina, New Zealand, native owns a team best 16-7 dual match singles record and went 8-6 in singles during ACC play.
All-ACC Awards
Two Georgia Tech freshmen, and , represented the Yellow Jackets in ACC honors after being named to the All-ACC Second Team. Individual honors, as well as the All-ACC teams, were determined by a vote of the league’s 15 head coaches. Renaud and Hourigan are the 21st and 22nd Georgia Tech student-athletes selected to All-ACC women’s tennis teams.
Dominant in Doubles
The Yellow Jackets have won the doubles point in 19 of 25 matches and are 14-5 when winning the doubles point. Georgia Tech has won the doubles point in 11 out of the past 13 matches. The Jackets are 2-4 when losing the doubles point and came back to defeat #32 Notre Dame and #17 Duke after dropping the doubles point. The Jackets won the doubles point against #19 Oklahoma State, #3 Georgia, #67 Florida State, #22 Clemson and #12 Virginia but fell in those matches.
