Oct. 10, 2013
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech women’s tennis team heads to Nashville, Tenn. for the June Steward Invitational hosted by Vanderbilt University from Oct. 11 – Oct. 13.
Along with host Vanderbilt, the Yellow Jackets will face Indiana and William and Mary in both singles and doubles play. Action begins at 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday and Saturday and at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday.
A Look at the Opponents
Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt’s Courtney Colton and Lauren Mira both participated in the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships this past week. In doubles, #6 Colton and Mira were defeated by Bianca Sanon and Kanika Vaidy of Columbia in the main draw before falling to Enirque and Vickers of Tulsa in the consolation bracket.
Both Colton and Mira competed in the qualifying singles round as well. Mira, who is ranked #51, went 1-1 in singles while Colton fell William & Mary’s Marie Belaya. The Commodores’ Georgina Sellyn is also ranked in the ITA preseason singles poll, checking in at #71.
William & Mary
Also competing at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships in the qualifying singles round was #99 Maria Belaya of William & Mary. Belaya advanced to the main singles draw after recording three-straight victories in the qualifying round. Belaya won her first match in the main draw bfore falling to Texas A&M’s Stancu.
Belaya and Jeltje Loomans are ranked #7 nationally and competed in the doubles main draw. The duo also advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to UNC’s Kay and Price.
Indiana
IU went 23-5 in singles and 16-4 in doubles play during the Hoosier Classic. Kayla Fujimoto, Sophie Garre, Alecia Kauss, #83 Katie Klyczek, Shannon Murdy, Gabrielle Rubenstein and Kim Scmider all had perfect weekends in singles at the Classic.
Kurey, Woodard Represent Tech at All-Americans
Sophomores Megan Kurey and Kendal Woodard competed at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships this past week. The #26-ranked pair fell in the doubles main draw to #15 Kay and Price. 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 Fuller and Garcia of Georgia and # 4 Hermon Brhane and Whitney Ritchie of Oklahoma.. The pair fell to #3 Bolender and Bektas of Michigan in the finals.
Woodard also competed in the qualifying singles round where she went 1-1. #67 Woodard defeated UNLV’s #41 Lucia Batta, 0-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the first round before falling to #104 Bianca Sanon of Columbia, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3.
Pre-season Rankings
The duo of sophomore Kendal Woodard and Megan Kurey checked in at No. 26 on the 2013-14 ITA women’s preseason doubles rankings. The pair 24-6 overall doubles record last year, including a 20-3 mark in dual matches and a 9-1 ACC record. They went 14-3 from the No. 1 doubles spot, won nine of their final 10 matches and finished the year ranked No. 60 in the ITA rankings.
Woodard also was featured on the preseason singles rankings at No. 67. In 2012-13, she was named to the 2013 All-ACC team after finishing her freshman season with a 24-12 overall record in singles play. Woodard led the Yellow Jackets in both overall singles (24) and doubles (28) wins. Woodard finished her first season for the Yellow Jackets ranked at No. 88 in singles.
Strong Returners
Woodard and Kurey are joined by sophomore Natasha Prokhnevska and senior Muriel Wacker as the four returning Yellow Jacket letterwinners. Last season, Prokhnevska finished with an 18-14 singles record and a 9-17 mark in doubles play. She clinched three matches for the Yellow Jackets including a singles victory against #35 Yale to secure GT’s victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Wacker recorded an overall singles record of 15-8 and went 13-13 overall in doubles play. She played mostly on court five in singles, notching a 13-6 mark. Prokhnevska and Wacker paired up to go 7-7 in doubles play.
Welcome to the Flats
The Yellow Jackets welcome two newcomers to this year’s squad – Alexa Anton-Ohlmeyer (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), and Rasheeda McAdoo (Boca Raton, Fla.). The two make up a sixth-ranked recruiting class.
Anton-Ohlmeyer recorded a 42-22 record in 2012-13, including 16 wins over blue chip and other five-star recruits. McAdoo was ranked as the 118th-ranked junior in the world by the International Tennis Federation and she owns a 43-24 career record in ITF events.
–RamblinWreck.com–
