May 7, 2015
By Matt Winkeljohn
The Good Word
Perhaps it took longer than some fans would have liked, but the Georgia Tech women’s tennis team found its way and is rolling at the right time, especially if Paige Hourigan’s rolled ankle cooperates.
The freshman from New Zealand suffered a high ankle sprain as the Yellow Jackets played No. 8 Virginia in the championship match of the ACC Tournament April 26, and head coach Rodney Harmon said she’ll be a, “game-time” decision Friday when No. 24 Tech meets No. 36 Wichita State in the NCAA Tournament.
Even if Hourigan can’t go, the Jackets feel good about themselves.
After opening the spring dual match season at 5-6 following back-to-back losses to a pair of ACC rivals in Miami and FSU, Tech won 11 of 13 matches leading up to the title contest with Virginia.
That stretch included wins over No. 32 Notre Dame, No. 17 Duke, No. 34 Virginia Tech, No. 23 Northwestern, No. 49 Boston College, Duke again, and then Florida State, 4-3, in the ACC semifinals.
“We had a really good ACC tournament. I guess other people weren’t expecting it because we were the sixth seed. The ACC being one of the toughest conferences, that’s definitely giving us a lot of confidence going into the NCAAs,” said junior captain Megan Kurey, whose three-set win clinched the FSU match.
“We have such a young team, three freshmen. I think at first it was a little bit of an adjustment being around each other. When you do well, you become closer.”
Should Hourigan miss the Wichita State match, coach Harmon will juggle the lineup, and perhaps move junior Kendal Woodard from No. 3 singles to Hourigan’s No. 2 spot.
Woodard can handle her business, yet Hourigan would be missed. She’s 25-11 in singles and 25-6 in doubles, where she and Woodard are 16-2 together.
“We’ve had a variety of injuries through the year, and we have eight girls who have all played so if that happens, we’ll be alright,” Harmon said. “Fortunately, we have Kendal and Megan, who at one time were No. 1 in the country; they won the national indoors title [in the fall of 2013].”
The Jackets (16-9) have plenty of other reasons to like their chances against the Shockers, even after falling to Virginia in the ACC title match.
Kurey, who continues to battle a sore foot and has dealt with abdominal strain issues, is 10-4 after missing the fall season and playing sporadically early in the spring. She’s won seven straight singles matches.
Sophomore Rasheeda McAdoo is 19-8, and won nine straight matches before falling to Virginia’s Skylar Morton in the ACC title match — where Hourigan’s injury seemed to take some starch out of the Jackets. She went to the hospital, after all.
McAdoo and freshman Johnnise Renaud are 10-2 as doubles partners.
“I feel like [the late-season run] boosts our confidence,” McAdoo said. “During the season, I feel like it didn’t count as much because it’s way before NCAAs and during the season there’s just one match after another after another.
“At the end of the year it just feels like more of an accomplishment . . . I’d say we’ve really grown together. At the beginning, we were kind of doing our own thing; not as united. Now, we’re closer together than at the start. I think just the time together has made more comfortable, especially with the freshmen.”
With Renaud, Hourigan and Alexis Prokopuik new to the program, the Jackets took time to mesh. Kurey, Woodard and fellow junior Natasha Prokhnevska and sophomores McAdoo and Alexa Anton-Ohlmeyer have bonded with the newbies.
Wednesday’s five-hour bus ride to the University of Florida, where the winner of the Tech-Wichita State (24-3) match will play the winner of No. 5 Florida (21-3) vs. Bethune-Cookman (22-6) offered all the more opportunity.
The Jackets will play in their 16th consecutive NCAA tournament.
“Definitely through the season, we’ve all grown closer,” Kurey said. “It makes you want to fight for your team more when you all like each other. The NCAAs are just a really cool thing because you can play anyone in the country. It’s just something really special.”
Harmon is looking forward.
“There is a sense of urgency. After all these matches, you know that you’re not playing tomorrow if you take care of the match right in front of you,” he said. “Definitely, we gained confidence over the end of the season.”
