March 20, 2014
The #26-ranked Georgia Tech women’s tennis team (7-4, 4-2 ACC) heads north this weekend, traveling to #9 Northwestern (8-3, 3-0 Big Ten) on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. Live stats for the match against Northwestern can be found here.
Singles Spotlight: Megan Kurey
Sophomore Megan Kurey has won three-straight singles matches and has gone 7-3 in her last 10 matches. This past weekend at #46 Boston College and Maryland, Kurey was a perfect 4-0 winning both singles matches on court four and pairing up with Kendal Woodard to win both doubles matches at the number one spot. Her win against Maryland clinched the match for the Jackets. This was the third match she has clinched for the Jackets. Kurey’s singles wins against #34 Florida State and #43 Wake Forest also secured Tech’s wins.
On the Road Again
Including the upcoming matches at Northwestern, the Yellow Jackets have played nine of their 12 dual matches this season on the road. So far Tech has gone 5-3 in away matches. Tech is 2-1 this season at home, tallying wins against Old Dominion and Wake Forest and falling to Georgia.
Winning the Doubles Point
The Yellow Jackets are 6-1 when winning the doubles point this season and 1-3 when losing the doubles point. Tech captured the doubles point against #25 Nebraska, Old Dominion, #27 Tennessee, #22 Notre Dame, #32 Florida State and Maryland. Tech lost to the doubles point to #43 Wake Forest, but won the match. Against #46 Boston College, Tech won the doubles point, but lost the match.
Scouting Northwestern
In the past eight seasons, the Yellow Jackets and Wildcats have met 10 times. Overall, Northwestern leads the series, 6-4, but the Jackets have won five of the last eight meetings, including last year’s 4-3 victory at home. At the number one spot in singles for the Wildcats is #36 Veronica Corning who has gone 7-4 so far this season. #32 Belinda Niu has been perfect at the number two spot with an 8-0 record. In doubles, Corning is paired up with Alicia Barnett on court one. The duo is ranked at #47 in the country and have a 5-4 record.
Dynamic Doubles Duo
The sophomore doubles duo of Megan Kurey and Kendal Woodard are ranked #2 in the nation in the doubles rankings after debuting this season at the #4 spot. In the Feb. 11th poll, the pair was ranked as the #1 doubles team. The tandem is 8-2 together this spring and had won 14-straight doubles matches together, before a loss to Georgia snapped their winning streak. Kurey and Woodard are 8-2 in their last 10 matches.
Kurey and Woodard won the 2013 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships doubles title in November. The tandem is 22-6 together this year and 9-5 against nationally ranked opponents.
Player of the Week
Sophomore Natasha Prokhnevska was named the ACC Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 18 for the first time in her career after helping Tech defeat #27 Tennessee, 5-2. Prokhnevska’s win at the #2 singles position clinched the victory for the Yellow Jackets, who are 3-1 this season. Prokhnevska defeated Joanna Henderson, 6-4, in the first set. In set two, she battled it out against Henderson to win the set, 7-6 (7-5). In doubles play against the Lady Vols, Prokhnevska paired up with Muriel Wacker to defeat Victoria Olivarez and Eve Repic, 8-3, helping the Jackets win the doubles point.
Facing Ranked Opponents
The #9-ranked Northwestern Wildcats will be the 10th top-45 opponent the Jackets will face in 12 dual matches. Tech is 5-4 against ranked opponents. Tech has recorded wins against #25 Nebraska (4-0), #27 Tennessee (5-2) , #22 Notre Dame (4-3), #34 Florida State (5-2) and #46 Wake Forest (5-2).
Jackets in the Rankings
The Georgia Tech women’s tennis team checks in at #26 in the most 2014 ITA women’s rankings which was released on March 18. The doubles tandem of Megan Kurey and Kendal Woodard are ranked at #2 in the doubles rankings.
Georgia Tech is one of seven ACC schools that are ranked in the top-30 in the rankings, joining Duke (1), Virginia (6), North Carolina (10), Miami (13), Clemson (18), Notre Dame (22) and Georgia Tech (26).
National Champions
The #2-ranked sophomore doubles duo of Megan Kurey and Kendal Woodard capped off an impressive fall season by winning the 2013 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships doubles title. Kurey and Woodard captured the national indoor doubles title on Nov. 10, 2013 after defeating Louisville’s Julia Fellerhoff and Rebecca Shine in the championship match.
The tandem went 14-4 this fall and owned an impressive 7-3 record against nationally ranked opponents. The duo finished off the season on a nine-match winning streak, including three straight victories during national indoors on their way to the national doubles title. Kurey and Woodard also won the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Doubles Title in the fall.
Follow the Jackets
Fans are encouraged to follow Georgia Tech women’s tennis on Twitter, @GT_WTEN, and like the Yellow Jackets on Facebook, GTWomensTennis, for an inside look at the program.
Next Up
The Yellow Jackets return home next weekend, hosting #18 Clemson on Friday, March 28 at 3 p.m. and NC State on Saturday, March 30 at noon.
