May 21, 2014
Infographic | NCAA Women’s Doubles Bracket | 2014 Tennis Championships Central | Live Scoring | Video Preview | Tournament Notes
THE FLATS – Sophomores Megan Kurey and Kendal Woodard of the Georgia Tech women’s tennis team will face Sofie Oyen and Belinda Woolcock of Florida in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Women’s Tennis Individual Championship on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
Live stats for the match will be available here and live video can be found in the same place. Only outdoor matches will be video streamed.
Trophy Case
The duo is currently ranked as the #6 doubles team in the nation. Tech’s No. 1 doubles pair produced a 13-6 record this spring and defeated 10 nationally ranked foes. Kurey and Woodard are 6-4 in their last 10 matches. Overall, Kurey and Woodard are 27-10.
The tandem had an exciting fall garnering some major hardware. In October, Kurey and Woodard defeated Georgia’s Lauren Herrin and Maho Kowase at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex to win the ITA/USTA Southeast doubles title and punch their ticket to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. Kurey and Woodard made Georgia Tech history 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.
10th Tech Doubles Team
Kurey and Woodard are Tech’s 10th doubles team to earn a bid to the NCAA Doubles Championship. The Yellow Jackets have had a doubles team earn a bid in eight seasons in the past 10 years. Kurey and Woodard will go attempt to win the first NCAA Doubles National Title for the Jackets. The only individual title the Yellow Jackets have won was in 2008 when Amanda McDowell was crowned the NCAA Singles Champion.
Yellow Jackets in the NCAA Doubles Championship
2005 – Kristi Miller & Alison Silverio
2006 – Kristi Miller & Lyndsey Shosho
2007 – Kristi Miller & Whitney McCray
2007 – Alison Silverio & Amanda Craddock
2008 – Kristi Miller & Whitney McCray
2009 – Amanda McDowell & Irina Falconi
2009 – Christy Striplin & Noelle Hickey
2010 – Irina Falconi & Sasha Kurpina
2012 – Jillian O’Neill & Alex Anghelescu
2014 – Megan Kurey & Kendal Woodard
A Look at The Opponents
Senior Sofie Oyen and freshman Belinda Woolcock have played on courts one and two for the Florida Gator’s this season. The pair is ranked at #27 in the nation and is 10-9 overall this season together . This will be Oyen’s third time in her career competing in the doubles draw. Kurey and Woodard have not faced Oyen and Woolcock this season.
National Champions
The #6-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.
All-ACC Awards
Georgia Tech sophomore Kendal Woodard was selected to the All-ACC First Team and sophomore Megan Kurey was selected 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. Woodard and Kurey are the 19th and 20th Georgia Tech student-athletes selected to All-ACC women’s tennis teams. This is second year in a row that Woodard has been honored on the All-ACC First Team. This is Kurey’s first all-conference award of her career.
The Path to Success
After playing as Tech’s No. 1 doubles team as freshmen, Kurey and Woodard carried their success into the summer, winning the doubles title at the 2013 ITA National Collegiate Summer Circuit Championships. The win in August guaranteed them an automatic bid into the doubles main draw of the ITA Women’s All-American Championships.
At the All-American Championships, the tandem fell in the doubles main draw to #15 Whitney Kay and Caroline Price of UNC. Kurey and Woodard then defeated three-straight ranked opponents to make it to the consolation bracket finals, including two opponents ranked in the top five, #2 Kate Fuller and Silvia Garcia of Georgia and #4 Hermon Brhane and Whitney Ritchie of Oklahoma. The pair fell to #3 Brooke Bolender and Emina Bektas of Michigan in the finals. The winner of the consolation bracket received an automatic bid to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.
After just missing out on the automatic bid to the national indoor championships, the duo continued to work hard, preparing for the ITA/USTA Southeast Regional Championships, which would be held at the University of Georgia Oct. 18-21. Kurey and Woodard defeated four-straight opponents to advance to the doubles finals and face #50 Lauren Herring and Maho Kowase of Georgia. Kurey and Woodard cruised to an 8-2 victory, winning the second regional doubles title for Georgia Tech women’s tennis.
The regional championship secured the two a bid to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships where they competed against the top competition in the nation. Kurey and Woodard made Georgia Tech history 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 in the 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 currently hold the #6 spot 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 13-6 together this spring and had won 14-straight doubles matches together, before a loss to Georgia snapped their winning streak.
